what legends are made of
by Rosslyn
Summary: On a routine mission to a normal-looking planet, Kirk and Spock discover a strange cave. Seven handprints were carved into the wall — each moulded to a member of the senior bridge crew of the Enterprise. In order to investigate this anomaly, the entire crew beam down to the planet, and falls into a nightmare. Kirk/Spock. NOW COMPLETE (pending epilogue)
1. Chapter 1

_Main pairing: Kirk/Spock_  
_Minor pairing: Sulu/Chekov_  
_If you squint: Scotty/Uhura_

_But above all, this is a fic of the Enterprise crew being legendary._

* * *

1.

It was both better and worse than he had dreamed: Spock's eyes were imploring into him and he could feel the short, wet puffs of air brushing against his cheek, but the slickness on the Vulcan's chest was making it difficult to hold on. He was overcome by an insane urge to laugh and cry at the same time; something red and hot was eating him inside, alive.

"Spock... Come on..."

Warm fingers snapped around his wrist and Kirk gasped; it was nothing like his dreams. The blank canvas that appeared in his dreams was flooded with emotions and intricately weaved thought, too much to take in at once; he thought he would explode from the inside. Somewhere at the back of his mind, however, he knew how this was going to go, and he feared for it — it was too much and too terrible to imagine. But there was no delaying it.

"Spock!"

Spock's eyes locked onto his, and long fingers reached for his temple; Kirk gasped, his eyes stung. Desperately grabbing for his friend's hand, he leaned into the touch, and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Yes, do it, do it, do it!"

A blinding light, then the world went dark.

* * *

**_Forty two point six hours earlier_**

It was a routine mission on a normal-looking planet, one that had many Terran-like qualities and Kirk had deemed it safe to beam down with minimum crew, namely, himself and Spock. Bones had made a case of strong objections, of course, and was overruled; Spock packed two phasers just to make a point and complied with good natured silence on the way down.

They made it about three kilometers away from the beam point when it started to rain.

It took about three drops for Kirk to realise what was going on, having been stuck in weatherless space for too long. He blinked.

"Joy," Kirk said. "Why didn't I think of packing an umbrella before beaming down?"

"We did not expect the rain," his First Officer replied, holding the tricorder higher. "The atmospheric component of the planet would indicate that this weather system is similar to one found on Earth, yet... more intense."

"Intense?" Kirk repeated.

Even as Spock said those words, the rain pelleted onto their heads and Kirk opened his mouth to taste the slightly salty water before its descent bordered on pain. Soon enough, the dribble turned into torrential rain, then effectively a never-ending waterfall, and Kirk was struggling to stand in the sheer force of the downpour. He could barely make out Spock's outline, standing barely feet away, his vision marred by the water.

"I think we should take cover," Kirk yelled.

"Agreed," Spock replied. Frustratingly, he did not seem to lose his cool the same way Kirk did. "There seems to be a cave ahead. We can wait out the rain there."

Kirk's communicator crackled to life just as they entered the cave.

"What did I say about easy missions and you being oxymorons, Jim?" McCoy asked arrogantly.

Kirk grunted in reply and proceeded to peel off his shirt, wringing them dry before looking at them ruefully. "I don't think they can be salvaged at this point," he said, shrugging, then used the dishevelled uniform to mop dry his hair.

"Jim," McCoy's voice came through as a particular brand of persistent, "Are you with me."

"Yeah," Kirk said. "We are in a cave, approximately, uh —" he looked at Spock.

Surely enough, Spock picked up where he left without a pause. "— four point six five kilometres northwest from where we beamed down, Doctor."

McCoy sighed. "I'll have Chekov beam you up," he said, "if you get a cold —"

"Doctor, I should think someone with your medical degree and expertise should know that being caught in the rain is not necessarily related to having —" Spock began, and McCoy groaned audibly.

Chekov came online at that precise moment and interrupted Kirk's endless mirth. "Keptin," the young ensign's voice cackled through the communicator, "zere seems to be something in ze rain zat's nullifying our transporter capabilities. We can't beam you back yet."

Kirk sighed.

"Typical," he said. "Spock, do we have enough supplies to wait until the rain passes?"

"Affirmative. At this rate of downfall, the water in the nearby atmosphere would be depleted shortly."

"Excellent," Kirk said, peering at outside. "Wow, I haven't seen that big a storm in a while — it's really raining cats and dogs out there."

"It is illogical to assume Terran domestic pets would fall out of alien sky, Captain."

Kirk laughed. "I know you are just winding me up, Spock." He shook out the remaining water in his hair and noted with amusement that the rain only made Spock's bowler cut more tame. "Well, I guess we are stuck here for the time being." He eyed the dark cave, lit only by their torches. "Shall we do a bit of exploring in the meanwhile, Mr. Spock?"

Spock inclined his head. "I would be amenable to this suggestion, provided that we do not lose contact with our ship."

"You hear that Chekov?"

"Aye sir," Chekov replied quickly. "But ze scanners show that ze cave you are in is not wery big, sir, you will likely hit a dead end in... five hundred meters, sir."

"Oiy." Kirk said with a sigh as he haphazardly threw on his wrinkled, damp shirt again. "Trust us to be stranded in a boring small cave, eh, Spock?"

"I... am not certain 'boring' is an accurate description, Captain," came Spock's reply, somewhat further away. Kirk turned around and saw his First Officer had already moved to the end of the cave, and was now studying the cave wall intently.

"What is it?" Kirk asked, striding towards him cautiously. When he approached the end of the cave, his eyes widened — there were seven handprints on the stone wall, carved several feet apart, in a semi circle.

"What _are_ those?" Kirk said, squinting up close. The handprints appeared ancient yet deliberate, like someone had carved them out specifically for a purpose.

"I believe," Spock said slowly, pacing from one handprint to another, "those function as a type of switch."

"A switch," Kirk repeated. "Like a door?"

"Affirmative," Spock replied. "There is an 87.3% something lies beyond those walls, Captain."

Kirk contemplated this for a brief second and pulled out his communicator again. "Chekov," he said, "are you sure about that dead end in our scanners?"

"Aye Keptin, positive Keptin. Zere are no hollow areas behind where you are standing, sir."

Kirk scowled. "Scan the immediate vicinity — no," he amended as an idea came to his head, "Scan _below_ where we are standing, are there any hollow space below our feet?"

A flurry of activity and beeps, then, "Ze scanners are unable to penetrate the planet's surface, sir, but..."

"But?"

"We detect traces of oxygen below, sir," Chekov said hesitantly. "It is probable that there is hollow space below where you are standing, sir."

Kirk exchanged a look with Spock. "Well?"

Spock appeared to contemplate this for a moment before answering. "Captain, our scanners showed no life-signs on the surface of the planet prior to our arrival."He eyed the handprint thoughtfully.

"But it's possible for indigenous life to live sub-terrain," Kirk supplied.

"Possible, but not very likely," Spock said. "The surface of the planet showed many Terran-like qualities including its ecosystems. There would be no logical reason to live underground if the surface of the planet supports an evolutionary trajectory similar to that of Earth."

"Hmm." Kirk made a non committal reply and surveyed the wall again. "And yet, this appears... man made."

Spock inclined his head in agreement, with a slight furrow in his brow. Kirk mulled this over for a few moments, then shrugged.

"Well, I guess the _logical_ thing to do now would be..."

He pressed down on one of the handprints.

"Captain!" Spock exclaimed, rushing to Kirk's side in evident alarm.

Nothing happened.

"That's anti-climatic," Kirk mumbled. "Yes, Mr. Spock?"

Spock stood stiffly next to him in parade rest, a tell-tale sign that he was irritated, often a result of Kirk's brazenness. "I do not think that action constitutes as being logical, Captain," he said distastefully.

Kirk grinned playfully. "You wanna have a go, Mr. Spock?"

"I do not," Spock replied tersely. "If you could refrain from — "

"No, seriously, come put your hand here," Kirk interjected, "my fingers don't really fit in those long slender prints. Maybe yours will."

He had only meant it half-heartedly so that he wouldn't be told off like a child in an advanced lab, but the more he studied the handprint, the eerier it became. "Hmm."

Spock came up beside him, reproach forgotten. "Curious. It does seem to fit my hand better..." he murmured, stretching out his fingers tentatively.

Kirk watched the motion wordlessly, his gaze trailing over Spock's fingers, before snapping back into attention and realising that it was probably grossly inappropriate in Vulcan culture. Spock did not seem to notice, however, he was eyeing him impassively, hand hovering over the print on the wall, waiting for confirmation.

"Go on," Kirk said softly, stepping ever slightly closer and bracing himself. "Don't worry — I got you."

Something softened in Spock's eye for a moment — could be the trick of the lighting — then Spock carefully fitted his hand in the wall.

For a moment, nothing changed. Kirk was feeling slightly stupid for the brief moment of tenderness that trespassed when Spock made a small noise, and the handprint began to glow.

"What the —"

Spock retracted his hands quickly and watched the glow fade from the wall, but it lingered now enough that Kirk knew he was not hallucinating. He gaped at Spock while Spock studied his hand with a slightly raised eyebrow, a sign of evident surprise — before another idea came into his head.

Kirk ran along the slightly curved cave wall, studying each handprint before he found one that looked most promising. Turning around to find Spock closely on his heels, he whispered — though he was not sure why he did — "I think this is me."

For a brief moment Spock appeared torn between protest and curiosity, but curiosity eventually won. He hovered close to Kirk and nodded, firmly, once.

Kirk slid his hand into the print, and yes, it fit most smugly, like a glove. A brief second passed, then another — then suddenly he felt it, a torrent of something warm travelling up his arm, just as the handprint began to glow in the wall, too.

"Fascinating," Spock remarked.

Kirk whipped his hand out and stared at the fading glow, too bewildered to answer. The colour of the glow for his handprint was gold, whereas Spock's was blue, coincidentally matching their Starfleet colours.

"Still think this is some kind of switch to a door, Mr. Spock?" Kirk asked.

"Affirmative," Spock replied. "In fact, I recalculate the possibility to be approximately 97.5%."

"Mmm," Kirk said, eyes darting from one handprint to another. There were seven in total, six of them relatively large, clearly male, while one was decidedly smaller —

His heart gave a tiny jolt. "No," he breathed, feeling suddenly eerily cold, "...really?"

"Captain?" Spock eyed him warily.

"Spock," he said in a hushed tone, dragging him to the smaller handprint, "Does this look like — like Uhura's to you?"

An eyebrow flicked, but Spock did not appear otherwise perturbed. Kirk fought to suppress the goosebumps while Spock carefully surveyed the handprint, then nodded grimly, once.

"I believe so, Captain."

Kirk pressed his lips into a thin line while their gaze simultaneously shifted to the other handprints, four more, male, one slightly smaller, possibly younger.

"Three guesses to whose handprints those are," Kirk said under his breath.

"No need," Spock said calmly, "Given the circumstances, it is logical to surmise that those handprints belong to — "

"Bones, Scotty, Sulu and Chekov," Kirk said, pointing at each one.

"— The entire senior crew of the _Enterprise_," Spock concluded.

Kirk swallowed an uneasy lump in his throat. "Wow," he breathed. "_Creepy_."

For once, Spock did not correct him on the use of illogical human emotional expressions. "I believe the term is apt," he said simply. "The statistical chance of a phenomenon such as this happening on a routine mission is less than 0.000000000013%."

"You lost me after the third zero," Kirk said absently, still eyeing the handprints. "_Astronomical_, I get it. I think we should investigate." He flipped open his communicator. "Chekov, has the storm let up yet?"

"Mostly, sir, mostly. Would you like to standby to beam up?"

Kirk glanced at Spock, who flitted out a hand to stall him at the wrist. "Captain, it is highly inadvisable for the entire senior bridge crew to beam down at the planet altogether," he urged quietly.

Kirk nodded. "I agree," he said, "but I have a sneaky feeling that whatever this door/switch thing is, it won't open unless everyone has their hand on their prints."

He could tell by Spock's eyes that the First Officer agreed with him, and Spock retreated his hand. Only then did he realise Spock's finger had been on his pulse point at the wrist, and all of a sudden he felt strangely aware of his heartbeat through the skin.

"Er," Kirk said, frowning slightly to pull his mind back to attention, "Actually —no, Chekov, you are beaming down."

"Me, sir?" Chekov sounded surprised.

"Yes, along with Dr. McCoy, Lieutenant Uhura, Lieutenant Sulu and Chief Engineer Scott," Kirk said. "Oh and, ask Bones to bring me a spare shirt. And a towel. And, uh, a medical kit, one of those magic briefcases he always keeps for landing parties."

There was a brief, worried pause, then, "Aye sir. Beaming down in three minutes."

"Kirk out."

Soon, swirling gold beams announced the arrival of the senior crew of the _Enterprise_, and Kirk felt a brief pang of anxiety despite knowing perfectly well that the ship would be well maintained in orbit by other members of his crew.

Predictably, the good doctor's voice was the first to ring out, before his legs finished materialising.

"I hope you didn't call us down here for a picnic, Jim," he grumbled, holding out a spare black undershirt as well as a gold uniform.

"Aye," Scotty nodded, beaming, "'cos I dinnae get a chance to grab that scotch yet."

"Ah — yeah, no," Kirk said, the brief moment of anxiousness melting into that of pride, "It's something you have to see for yourselves."

He waved them towards the wall and demonstrated the fact that their hands fit snugly within the carved prints with Spock, watching the prints glow together this time, and the feeling of warmth multiplied significantly in his arm. For a split second a strange picture flashed across his mind — Spock was looking up at him, hair mussed and cheeks flushed with green, eyes intent and beseeching, mouthing something he could not quite catch — before it disappeared, leaving him frowning as he studied the fading glow on the wall, his fingers still tingling. However, the feeling faded as he stepped away from the wall, and Kirk mentally shelved the thought for reevaluation later.

He looked around; the rest of the bridge crew were enthralled by this strange turn of events and paid no attention to him. Deciding that he had better change before McCoy would stick him with another hypo in the name of preventing the common cold, Kirk quickly stripped in a corner with his back to the crew, fumbling with his undershirt in the dim light, trying to determine which way is front.

A towel suddenly appeared before him and Kirk started, realising that it was Spock. "Hey," he greeted automatically.

"Captain, I believe the purpose of changing into drier clothing would be served better if you were to dry yourselves first."

Kirk blinked, then grimaced as he felt a stray droplet roll down his back. "Yeah, sure. Thanks, Spock."

Impassive eyes regarded him before settling down on the left of his chest, where upon Spock's gaze flickered into something indecipherable and intense. Kirk paused in his towelling abruptly and felt all of a sudden extremely self-conscious.

"Er — Spock," he began, trying for the nonchalant while feeling decidedly weirded out, "Not that I don't, you know, but could you not ogle my —" he lowered his voice conspiratorially, "— _nipples_ — while the crew is standing just a few feet away?"

Kirk gave a most dazzling grin while Spock seemingly started (with his eyebrow, of course), then hurriedly looked away. There appeared to be a tinge of green to Spock's cheek, which Kirk took great delight to.

"My apologies, Captain," Spock said tersely.

"Jim," Kirk said absentmindedly. "Relax, Spock. I'm just messing with ya."

"Captain, you misunderstand," Spock said, ignoring the informal request for the first name. "I — "

"Yes?" Kirk said, smoothing down the front of his undershirt. Almost on cue, Spock picked up his command uniform and handed it to him.

"It is most illogical," Spock murmured. "Yet when I pressed my hand into the wall for the second time, I was presented with a foreign image in my mind —"

"Wait, you too?" Kirk paused, half startled, "What did you see?"

Spock's gaze flicked over the thin expand of Kirk's waist, riding up just visible above the belt, before hurriedly turned away. "A most distressing image," he said softly.

"Huh," Kirk said absently. He contemplated whether what he saw could be described as distressing — after all, Spock looked slightly _orgasmic_ in the picture that entered his mind, not that he knew anything about Vulcan orgasms at all — but no, he decided, he didn't find it distressing. _Intriguing_, in fact. "Can't say the same about mine," he said casually, in the end. "Guess to each his own, huh?"

Spock lifted an eyebrow and said nothing, though he appeared somewhat placated by this response. Kirk squared out his shoulders and smoothed down his uniform one last time, turning to meet his bridge crew, still studying the wall.

"I think we all know what we need to do here," Kirk announced.

A murmured round of understanding and agreement, while McCoy grumbled, "Dammit, I'm a doctor, not an explorer."

"You are, however, signed on for an exploratory mission of Starfleet," Spock supplied helpfully.

"Just you wait until the ground swallows us up you green blooded —"

"Alright, children!" Kirk piped up, collecting amused glances from his crew, "Find your hole in the wall. On my count. Three. Two. _One._"

The ground opened up and swallowed them.


	2. Chapter 2

2

"Ack! I think I broke my tailbone, god dammit!"

"Oof, Hiraku, you are getting heavier, ack."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Are you okay?"

"Aye lass, not that I donnae appreciate ye sittin' in me lap, but ye heel is digging — oooow —"

"Bones! Is everyone alright? Uhura, Scotty — oh my god Sulu you will crush the poor guy, Chekov, you okay? Spock! Spock!"

"I am unharmed, Captain."

A hiss, then light.

"Of course," Kirk remarked dryly, "Not a hair out of place."

Spock ignored him and began to hand out lighters.

"I'm far too old for this kind of shit," McCoy groused, pushing himself off the floor with Kirk's hand. "God dammit, I knew this would happen."

"A most remarkable foresight, doctor," Spock said. "Perhaps next time you are certain of future happenstances, you would divulge your confidence and allow us to prepare in advance."

McCoy glared at Spock like he had nothing to divulge but his temper and Kirk quickly patted him on the shoulder in what he hoped was a consolatory manner. "You okay Bones? Not missing a spleen or anything?"

"Missin' my god damn good sense, is what I'm missing," McCoy griped. "What is this hellhole, anyway?"

"It appears by pressing our hands into the moulded slots we have activated the switch and the trapdoor was opened," Spock summarised.

"A trapdoor," Sulu repeated, little suspiciously.

"For the lack of a better term," Spock said. "The fall could not have been more than five meters. It was not designed to harm but to receive."

Indeed, the space they found themselves in was small, barely enough to accommodate a crowd of seven, with nothing but stone walls that resembled what they saw in the cave. A murmur broke out among the crew while they each mulled over the possibilities. Kirk edged closer to Spock and whispered, "No more than two meters?"

Spock cast him an indecipherable glance, then peered upward. "Four point one eight meters, Captain," he said with a slightly flick of the eyebrow.

"Attaboy," Kirk said, patting him on the shoulder and grinning brightly.

"Sir," Sulu said suddenly, "I see carvings on the wall."

"More?" Kirk said, moving closer and squinting, "What is it this time, footprints?"

"Uh, no sir, it appears to be some sort of equation... Pavel?"

They shuffled so that Chekov and Spock could move to the forefront and study the equations. After a brief pause, Spock murmured, "Fascinating," while Chekov scowled deeply, muttering something in Russian.

"Guys, what is it," Kirk said, alarmed.

"It does not appear to be solvable," Spock said, glancing at Chekov.

The whizz kid bit his lip and shook his head. "Aye, Captain, zis equation makes no sense."

Kirk nudged closer until he was squeezed in the middle, feeling slightly odd as his left side, pressed against Spock, was registering the Vulcan's heat vividly while his right side, pressed against Chekov, felt human normal. "Hmm," he said after a few minutes, "It _is_ a particularly long equation, and not a very elegant one, at that."

"It has too many repeat elements with too little information," Spock said. "It's not possible to derive anything from the information we are being given."

Kirk nodded. "Okay, span out and search nearby walls. See if you can find more equations like this to provide as some kind of clue."

They fanned out, as much as they can, scouring the wall, and two more equations were found in the next few minutes. Uhura and Scotty poured over one while Chekov and Sulu put their heads over another, leaving Bones rolling his eyes and sitting down in the centre, muttering something about not being a mathematician, either.

Kirk did not move from where he was standing and after a few seconds, realised that Spock did not, either. They were still pressed tightly together, not uncomfortably, but close enough for Kirk to feel the heat radiating off Spock, making him suddenly hyperaware of the Vulcan's physical presence.

Kirk shifted a little on his feet, but otherwise felt an irrational compulsion to stay where he was. "I should've known this would happen," he murmured.

"Yet even armed with the knowledge you would have wanted to investigate further," Spock said in a tone that is neither accusatory nor vindictive, simply stating a fact.

"You know me too well, First Officer Spock," Kirk said with a smile, feeling warmed over as the last of the rain's dampness was driven away by the Vulcan heat.

Spock caught his eye for a brief moment before glancing away. Kirk followed his gaze and saw it land on Uhura, who was studying the second equation with a curious frown on her face. Kirk sneaked a glance at Spock and saw his expression morph into thoughtfulness, and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I uh," he began, feeling a little out of place, "I don't mean to, you know, pry or meddle or anything, but if you want, I can tell Scotty to back off and pair you two up instead?"

Spock blinked and fixed his gaze on Kirk. "I beg your pardon?"

"You know," Kirk shrugged, "It'd be nice to work alongside someone you like on a mission, stuff like that. If you want, of course."

Spock regarded him with a level gaze and turned away. "I am satisfied where I am," he said flatly.

"Oh," Kirk said, blinking rapidly and feeling decidedly stupid. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to help — it was probably out of line."

Spock shook his head. "You misunderstand, Captain. Lieutenant Uhura and I have terminated our relationship as of eight point six month ago."

"Eight —" Kirk started, "But we've only been on this mission for five months," he said.

Spock said nothing. Kirk did a quick mental count and realised that it would've meant they broke up two weeks after the whole mess with Khan. Around the time he was being discharged from McCoy's iron grip, as well, and Kirk distinctly recalled being curious over Spock's continued presence during his recuperations. It all made sense, now, though Kirk could not quite put his finger on how he was supposed to feel about this new knowledge, however old the news may be.

"I'm sorry," he ventured at last, then, "It couldn't have been easy for you."

"It was a mutual agreement," Spock murmured. "Our ability to work together professionally has not been affected, as you no doubt would have noticed if it had."

"Oh, I'm not worried about that," Kirk waved a hand, then eyed Spock carefully. "You okay?"

"I am well," Spock said distractedly.

"You are kind of staring at her weird," Kirk pointed out. "Just thought you'd know, in case you don't want to be caught out pining or anything."

"I assure you, it is not what you think, Captain," Spock said slowly and in a level tone. Then, "Vulcans do not pine."

Kirk smiled faintly. "Sure, Spock."

They dispersed after that and Kirk noted with a strange feeling in his chest that Spock did walk over to Uhura's place and the two of them engaged immediately in rapid conversation, leaving Scotty to throw his hands up in the air and joining McCoy on the floor. Sulu and Chekov were still huddled by their wall, though by the look of it, Chekov was the only one studying the equation while Sulu studied Chekov with an amused expression on his face. Kirk watched his crew for a while then joined the doctor and the engineer on the floor, the latter two somehow miraculously procuring a whiskey flask and was drinking from it.

"No alcohol on missions guys," Kirk admonished half—heartedly. "Especially not if you are not going to share."

"Nah, it's just water," Scotty said. "More class if ye drink 'em out of a flask, I say."

McCoy snorted while Kirk smirked. Scotty took a large gulp out of the flask and screwed it shut. "Alright then, laddies, this one is either gonna go into books and songs, or nobody will ever know what happened to us down here, so we'd better come up with something."

"Lemme guess, communicators are fried," Kirk said.

Scotty inclined his head. "Something's blocking the signal alright. Couldn't scan it proper, so my guess is no beaming either. We are on our own here, Captain."

"Well," Kirk said, casting his gaze involuntarily over to where Spock stood, "I have my best here. Wouldn't exactly say I'm alone."

"Touching," McCoy said. "Doesn't mean the sky won't fall in soon and you will be bleeding all over the floor or something equally horrific as that, though."

Scotty looked torn between amused and scandalised while Kirk grinned brightly and swatted McCoy on the arm.

"But I know you'll arrive in time to save me, right?"

"Actually I was thinking of letting your stupidity run its own course," McCoy replied. "But sure, whatever. Didn't take the damn oath for nothing, you know."

"I love you too, Bones," Kirk quipped happily.

There was a sudden, noticeable lull in the quiet conversation behind them and Kirk lifted his head to see Spock staring down at him, an inscrutable expression on his face. He frowned.

"Yes, Mr. Spock?"

Spock continued to stare at him for a few seconds before something flickered in his eyes and he straightened into a parade rest. Kirk frowned harder and did not miss the amused glance exchanged between McCoy and Scotty.

"I believe we have made a discovery, Captain," Spock said stiffly.

"Okay," Kirk said slowly, "Care to enlighten us?"

Spock gave a terse little jerk of his head and to Kirk's irrational annoyance, it was Uhura who spoke up. "We think these equations are not equations at all, sir," she said.

Kirk tried not to dwell on the usage 'we' and how it sat wrong with him all of a sudden. "Not an equation," he repeated, "then what is it?"

"A language," Uhura said. "Each repeated element is akin to a letter or a phrase."

"Like a cryptogram?" Kirk said, perking up. He had a fondness for puzzles, after all. Next to him, Chekov exclaimed loudly.

"Of course! We have been solving it in the wrong way!" he bounced on his heels and extended a hand to Sulu without looking, "Hikaru, quick, PADD!"

Kirk watched bemusedly as Sulu gave Chekov his PADD without a word, and Uhura soon joined them, huddling together and laying out possible translations with help from the Universal Translator app. Scotty and McCoy were peering over its content too, enthused by the promise of a mystery puzzle. Kirk hovered close by until he realised Spock was standing in the corner all by himself, and decided to join him instead,

"Hey," Kirk greeted, "Should we have a go as well?"

Spock held out his PADD wordlessly, though he surreptitiously stepped back when Kirk poked his head over and into his personal space. Kirk paused, and, appearing as nonchalant as he could manage, said:

"You know, I wish Carol could have come with us."

Spock seemed to stiffen further at his offhand comment. "Lieutenant Marcus' handprint was not on the wall," he said.

"Oh, I know," Kirk said distractedly, "But I mean it when I say it's nice to work around someone you like. Bones would've loved to explore with Carol, no matter what he says. He's really into her, you know."

Kirk noticed with no small degree of satisfaction that Spock's eyebrow climbed further as he spoke, yet the Vulcan's posture seemed to relax by the end of it. He absentmindedly dragged two symbols next to each other on the PADD and added, "I think there's something to be said about putting your life on the line for the other person. You know, for someone who was pretty used to being abandoned, seeing another person sticking with you till the bitter end, as we say, it's — well, it's romantic," he glanced at Spock, whose gaze had turned inscrutable again. Kirk smiled. "I know, illogical, right?"

Spock inclined his head. "I have come to realise that very little about human relationships are logical," he said softly, though his tone betrayed more feeling than Kirk thought was possible by the monotone.

"Right you are, Spock," Kirk laughed, and patted him on the arm, taking delight when Spock did not step away this time.

His hand still lingered on Spock's arm when a small sound of whooping came from the other side. "Report," Kirk called, feeling a rush of pride and confidence all of a sudden.

"We have isolated the most frequently occurring elements, sir," Uhura said, "and the syntaxes seem to correspond with —"

"The translation, if you please," Kirk said pleasantly, as McCoy rolled his eyes.

"It translates into a phonetic alphabet," Uhura held up her PADD and they all huddled around to see.

"Beware... of... the... shadow," Kirk read the first part out loud, slowly. "Okay...?"

"_Tun-bosh... ashayam,_" Spock murmured the next part. "Fascinating."

"Wait, the second part is in Vulcan?" Kirk frowned. His Vulcan was rusty at best in the Academy, but even he knew _tun-bosh_ meant careful. "What does _ashayam_ mean?"

"Beloved," Spock said softly.

"Be careful beloved?" Kirk translated, bewildered.

"_Ne ostavlyaite samuraya,_" Chekov read the third part, looking just as lost as he was.

"_Russian?_" Something distinctively uneasy was prickling again at the back of his mind, and Kirk was almost afraid to ask, "What does it mean?"

"Do not give up the Samurai," Chekov said, face pale. His eyes darted to Sulu, who was scowling over the next part furiously.

"_Taeyang-eul hyanghae idong_," he said at last. "Go towards the sun."

By now Kirk was feeling extremely alarmed. "Okay," he said, glancing around the small space anxiously, "This is starting to freak me out."

"Oh hell," McCoy muttered.

"What," Kirk whirled around, only to see the doctor rolling his eyes towards the ceiling.

"Mine says, _don't go checking holes in your eyelids._"

Kirk frowned. "That's Standard — how do you know it's for you?"

"Because that's a saying where I grew up, Jim," McCoy replied gruffly. "It goes something like, 'I'm not falling asleep, I'm just checking holes in my eyelids."

Despite himself, Kirk snorted.

"Aye, this is fantastic," Scotty piped up. "The next bit says, _haud yer wheesht!"_

_"_Hold your what?" Kirk asked indignantly.

"It means be quiet," Scotty replied, rubbing his hands. "My, I haven't heard that said in a long while!"

At last they shifted their gaze towards Uhura, who appeared to be staring a hole into her PADD. "Mine says 'trust your hand'," she said at last.

"Standard too?" Kirk said, raising an eyebrow.

"No, Swahili," Uhura replied. She set down the PADD and stared at Kirk. "What now, Captain?"

Kirk was formulating an answer and a bold plan when a loud rumble rolled in, and the space they were in began to shake.

"Oh great," McCoy muttered, "Just as I hoped."

"Then I hope you would cease in your future divinations unless it is of a positive outcome," Spock remarked, and Kirk barked a laugh despite himself.

"Captain!" Scotty yelled, "The wall!"

True enough, the one wall that was unmarked by the strange warnings were slowly descending to reveal a dark passage, a stone corridor.

"Guess there's only one way outta here," Kirk announced, just as pebbles of stone began to fall from the ceiling. Miraculously, though somewhat ominously, only the small space they were in crumbled and the passage stood intact, somewhat oblivious to the seismic activity that seemed to be tearing through where they were.

The entire crew dashed out into the corridor seconds before the small space collapsed in itself, effectively blocking their swift exit.

"Well, that's that," Scotty announced with a shrug.

"Indeed," Spock said, straightening (not a hair out of place!). "We have no option but to explore further, Captain."

"Good day as any," Kirk announced cheerily. "Everybody remember their haikus?"

The human crew rolled their eyes while the Vulcan shifted an eyebrow. Kirk grinned. He could not imagine being stuck underground with better company.

"Alright," he said, waving the torch and letting the light dispel the seemingly endless darkness down the corridor, "Let's do this."

* * *

_A/N: As you no doubt would have guessed, every language-related tidbit is courtesy of google translate. (So it's probably not very accurate but you get the gist)_

_Update: many thanks to mightymads on AO3 for the language help! :)_


	3. Chapter 3

3

"Oh my god, _are we there yet._"

"Captain," Spock admonished softly.

Kirk threw up his hands in defeat. "I know, I know, crew morale — " he cast a glance at the crew dredging just as tiredly in front of him and lowered his voice. "Come on, Spock, we've been walking for _hours_. There are not even a _turn_, for godsakes. I was hoping for a little more excitement than this, you know."

"I find your lack of enthusiasm for non threatening situations worrying," Spock replied, though he appeared half amused.

"Ergh," Kirk said, "I could use a couple of Klingons just now. We are getting nowhere like this."

Spock made no comment but strode up to Dr. McCoy instead. "Doctor," he said, "Is your tricorder functional?"

"Everything except the compass," McCoy replied. "Still spinning like a madman."

"I see," Spock said. "Mr. Chekov."

Chekov snapped his head around. "Aye, sir?"

"Before you beamed down, were you able to take a preliminary scan of the surrounding area?"

"Aye sir, a brief scan of ze nearby terrain. Nothing but mountains, sir."

"May I see it on your PADD?"

Kirk poked his head over Spock's shoulder, nudging him slightly as they kept up their pace, while his First Officer zoomed in on the display with his long fingers. "There," Spock said at last.

"A chasm," Sulu observed upside down as he walked backwards. "A thin one."

"Affirmative."

"But —" Kirk glanced at Spock, finding confirmation in his mental calculations, "We've been walking for hours in that direction, we should have come to it by now, if there is a chasm in the terrain."

"Could we be walking under it?" McCoy asked, joining in as well.

"Nyet," Chekov replied. "Ze contours, zey dip low, ze chasm may be thin but it is wery deep."

"Holy shit," Scotty exclaimed, making them jump.

Kirk whipped up expecting Scotty to announce some discovery they had missed on the PADD, only to see the engineer stare at the floor in blatant disbelief.

"I —" Scotty lifted his head and Kirk noticed the engineer's face was alarmingly pale, "I think we are going in circles, Captain."

"How?" Kirk demanded, "The corridor is straight as a line. We haven't turned even once."

"It is possible to go around in a circular fashion if the corridor has a slight shift of angle, too slight for humans to perceive," Spock said. "Although — "

"No, no no no, look," Scotty shook his head and picked up something from the floor. To their collective astonishment, it was a sweet wrapper.

"I uh, I was hungry, alright?" Scotty said, a flush oddly noticeable after the paleness that had taken his features. "These sweetie things from Wrigley III, they are power boosters, alright? I — anyway, I stuffed one and threw the wrapper away, _not five minutes ago_ — and look!" he waved the wrapper almost frantically. "It's appeared again!"

Everyone stared at the innocuous wrapper, absolutely at a loss for words.

"Fascinating," Spock said at last. "Mr. Scott, you should restrain from littering the planet, since any otherworldly items could potentially interfere with the Prime Directive."

"Spock!" Kirk exclaimed, "He's just told us — _that_ — and you are lecturing him on _littering?_ Seriously?"

Spock gave Kirk a withering look and McCoy snorted, effectively diffusing some of the tension. Stepping unconsciously closer to his First Officer, Kirk rubbed the bridge of his nose and willed for the uneasy feeling to go away. "So we are going in circles?"

"Negative," Spock said. "Even if there is a slight shift in angle so that the passage will eventually complete a large circle, it would not lead Mr. Scott back to where he was five minutes ago without our notice."

"So how do you explain this?" Kirk glanced around and met worried looks from his crew, "Any ideas?"

"I propose we repeat the experiment," Spock said calmly. "If we can replicate these exact circumstances, we might be able to study its process."

"Logical," Kirk said with a faint smile. "Alright, guys, empty your pockets and offer up your little trinkets, we are gonna dump them on the floor and hope we lose them."

Wordlessly Uhura fished out a notebook (a luxury pleasure only the linguistics department enjoyed) in her backpack and tore off a piece of paper, before signing it and giving it to Kirk.

"Okay, this works better," Kirk said, grinning. He carefully folded the paper and popped it up against the wall, before scanning the area and making sure that nothing could interfere with it. "On we go, then."

Sulu and McCoy led the party while Kirk and Spock lingered behind, and they came to an abrupt stop not twenty paces later.

"Why —" Kirk began, and audibly inhaled when he saw the same piece of paper popped against the wall. "Scotty! I thought you said you didn't see the wrapper for a full five minutes?"

"Aye sir," Scotty replied, looking anxious, "But I wasn't looking out for it, sir, it could've just slipped my attention and we could've walked past it many a times before I noticed it."

Kirk squatted down and carefully unfolded the paper, sure enough, in the centre of the paper was a roughly drawn sign of Starfleet. "Well shit," he breathed.

"Captain," Spock began.

Kirk eyed the darkness in front of him and had a sudden, strange thought: why couldn't their light penetrate further than a few paces? Starfleet issued torches were supposed to be military grade, enough to light up empty spaces stretching thousands of meters. He took a torch and stepped once, twice, until a dim shadow began to shimmer between him and the rest of the crew.

"Beware of the shadow," Kirk breathed, remembering, then suddenly gripped by an irrational fear. " I — "

A strong grip suddenly landed on his arm and Kirk yelped, the sound coming out more like a squeak in his surprise. He was pulled back into the light and Spock was staring at him, gaze intense.

"Jim," Spock said, unrelenting on his grip, almost painful, "It is not advisable for you to separate from the rest of the landing party."

Kirk blinked and looked around, each of his crew staring at him with a strange look of surreal paleness on their face, accentuated by the artificial light. "Yeah," he said, and found his throat suddenly dry, "Yeah — but we need to investigate this, Spock — what happens if some of us walks ahead and others stayed where they are?"

"I'm not sure I wanna find out," McCoy said, though his voice was lacking his usual gruff.

"It is a logical step in our next experiment," Spock replied, eyes darting towards the darkness that seemed to envelope them. "However, I insist that I go along with you, Captain."

Kirk blinked and suddenly felt the cloud of fear lift from his chest. "Of course, Spock."

"Now wait just a goddamn minute," McCoy began, and it almost was a relief to hear the doctor grumble again though Kirk would never admit it, "What happens if you disappear, hmm? We'd be left here without one Captain and First Officer. I say we stick together."

"Bones, if we don't try this, we'd be stuck here forever." Kirk skirted a glance to Sulu, who was looking grim. "Sulu, you are acting Captain while Spock and I are gone. If we don't return, devote all your time and energy on fixing the communicator and beam the hell outta here the moment you can. That's an order. Okay?"

"Aye, sir."

"At least let me come with you, dammit!"

"Bones —"

"The passage is too narrow for three people to walk side by side," Spock interjected. "If we do not walk side by side, the experiment may be compromised. There is no good reason for you to simply walk behind us, Dr. McCoy, only an increase of unnecessary risk."

McCoy's nostrils flared and Kirk hurriedly stepped in. "Bones, he's got a point." he patted his good friend on the shoulder and squeezed reassuringly. "Chances are, we'll be back in twenty steps, so just wait here, kay?"

McCoy grumbled something under his breath and Kirk gave his shoulder a last good pat. He left to stand with Spock and peered into the thinning darkness just in front of their torches, dimly aware of the heat radiating off the Vulcan's body.

"Captain," Spock began lowly, "It is preferable if we could establish a form of physical contact throughout our journey, in event of separation."

"What?" Kirk asked absentmindedly, as the shadow began to shimmer behind them and the voices of his crew grew thin. Then, "Oh, of course." He glanced at Spock, suddenly feeling nervous. "You uh, you want to hold on to my wrist?"

"A mutual rapport would be preferable in case one of us is incapacitated," Spock stated calmly.

"Right," Kirk said, wondering if he was translating Spock correctly. "So, uh —"

He held out a hand tentatively and was gratified to see Spock take it, fingers wrapped tightly around his in a strictly professional manner. There was probably no _professional _way to hold hands with your First Officer, but somehow Spock pulled it off. Kirk fought to quell the irrational disappointment and took another step forward into the darkness, hand clasped tightly with his first officer, leaving his crew behind.

* * *

_A/N: So if you read any Chinese grave-robber stories you can see where some of the plot devices came from, but this is Star Trek, kay, every trope goes -g-_


	4. Chapter 4

4

The simple walk felt longer in his head. Kirk was infinitely aware of the way Spock held onto his hand, gripping tightly, as if he was afraid Kirk was going to slip away the moment they left their friends. Five steps in, the darkness enveloped them tightly, and the surroundings fell silent.

"Curious," Spock murmured.

"Yeah," Kirk agreed, "It's like something's blocking light _and_ sound here. I swear I could hear Bones griping just a second ago."

They moved cautiously for another ten steps, until, "Captain, lights ahead."

Kirk peered ahead and had the distinct feeling that he was attempting to look through fogged glass. "I guess we are back to where we started again?"

Spock said nothing and fastened their pace, until the light hit them full in the face. The corridor appeared to be the one where they left from, and sure enough, the folded piece of paper was sitting by the wall, eerily innocent. Yet,

"Spock," Kirk whispered, unable to hold back the slight tremor in his voice, "Spock — _where is everyone?_"

The corridor was completely deserted, aside from the five torches left behind, the crew of the _Enterprise_ evaporating into thin air.

"I do not know," Spock replied, and the levelness of his tone helped to calm Kirk somewhat. "I had calculated the odds of such an event happening before we left to be 2.6%."

Kirk grimaced. "And the odds of us ever seeing them again?"

"Insufficient data," Spock said. He bent down to survey the torches. "However, I find it highly illogical that the entire crew would depart without their lighting source."

"That's if they left by their own will," Kirk said, glancing around but the stone walls offered not a single clue. He was suddenly struck with an irrational fear, mixed with gratefulness, that he took up on Spock's offer and did not end up in this unlikely situation alone. "The only reason for them to leave these behind is if they were beamed out..." he trailed off, and darted his gaze towards the paper folded against the wall.

"The pattern of scattering for the torches would indicate...Captain?" Spock asked, as Kirk carefully unfolded the paper. Then, in a more worried tone, "Jim?"

Kirk swallowed. "The Starfleet insignia," he said, "the one I saw Uhura sign — it's gone."

"Gone?" Spock repeated.

"Yeah, there's this other symbol here — a triangle," Kirk said, holding up the paper. "Any ideas?"

Spock stared at the paper oddly, and Kirk frowned. "Spock?"

"That is the sign for the Vulcan Science Academy," Spock said flatly.

"What?" Kirk said sharply. "How?"

Spock opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it again. He turned his head towards where they had come from and suddenly Kirk found the iron grip back on his wrist, hot and demanding.

"Captain," Spock's voice was calm but urgent, "I do not believe this is the same corridor from which we have departed. Nor do I deem it safe."

Kirk tensed, and that was when he heard it — footsteps. Hurried and uncoordinated, looming close.

"Captain I must confess I have no desire to find out what is coming at us," Spock said hurriedly, his grip bordering painful on Kirk's wrist. "May I suggest we — "

"— RUN!"

They sprang into action just as a bloodied hand appeared from the shadows and made a grab for Spock's shoulder. The Vulcan evaded it easily, but not before the finger made a small brush against the side of his neck. A minute frown passed Spock's face, but Kirk was too busy to notice — heart thumping wildly, he snagged Spock's hand, Vulcan propriety be damned, and sprinted down the other side of the corridor, hoping they would emerge somewhere else.

It took merely ten seconds, though in his head felt like ten minutes, before they skidded into a halt and a collective burst of light assaulted their retinas again.

"My God Jim," McCoy's voice sliced through the mental fog, clear as a knife, "What happened to you? You look like you saw a ghost."

"Bones!" Kirk exclaimed, nearly overcome by relief and felt dangerously on the edge of weeping with joy. "Sulu! Uhura! Guys! I'm so happy to see you!"

Everyone stared back at him oddly. Slowly their gaze trailed downwards, to where Kirk and Spock were still holding hands, and a few eyebrows were raised. Suddenly self conscious, Kirk's finger twitched in Spock's iron grip. Spock relaxed his hand almost immediately and Kirk retracted his own, wiping it surreptitiously on his thigh, secretly envious of the fact that Vulcans did not sweat.

"Yer were gone for like, twenty seconds," Scotty said, "what could possibly have happened?"

"What possibly indeed," Kirk mumbled, feeling suddenly exhausted. "Spock?"

Spock duly recounted the events after they had left and added, "... We have been separated approximately three point six minutes."

"No more than twenty seconds, mate," Scotty reiterated. "I was lookin' at my PADD, no more than twenty seconds. Twenty five, tops."

"And a Vulcan's internal chronometer doesn't lie," Kirk offered with a tense smile.

"Fascinating," Spock murmured. "That, coupled with what we have seen in the other corridor, could indicate a possible temporal distortion in the immediate vicinity."

"Whoa whoa," McCoy held up his hand in a clear sign of frustration, "A temporal —? Nothing good's ever come out of those phrases. It practically means a free ride with no rules. _Anything_ can happen when there's a temporal distortion, whatever that means."

"The doctor is correct," Spock said.

McCoy's eyes widened. "Don't agree with me on something this ominous," he said.

Spock narrowed his eyes by a fraction. "While your penchant for predicting the future is — "

"Guys, guys!" Kirk interjected quickly, exasperated. The rest of the crew were smiling, though, mostly at their feet, and Kirk let out a long suffering sigh. "Alright. Any bright ideas? No? Come on, what happened to the best crew in Starfleet? Huh?"

"They are stuck in a stony corridor ten feet below ground," McCoy answered sardonically.

"There is one more experiment we may attempt, Captain," Spock piped up, seemingly oblivious to McCoy's comments. "However, it would require the crew's collective effort."

Kirk exhaled slowly. "I was kinda hoping we don't have to," he said, scanning his crew. "But I suppose it's only..."

"Logical," Sulu said, grinning.

Spock's eyebrow twitched. McCoy gave a throaty groan and rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hands. "Care to enlighten us to the grand plan, Jim?"

"Right," Kirk said, putting his best command voice to use. "Temporal distortions aside, the corridor is not that long. If we spread out and stretched ourselves, we may be able to test the physically impossible loop for ourselves."

"You mean we do a conga line then hope it either breaks the loop, or the front becomes the back?"

"Essentially, yes," Kirk said. "Although the conga line has to be sideways, and we all get to hold hands. No, I'm serious."

By the time he finished, several members of the crew have begun to do as they were instructed already: Chekov and Sulu have clasped hands with Scotty and McCoy on each side, leaving Spock and Kirk at the front, and Uhura at the very back. Kirk paused.

"Er, Uhura, sure you'll be okay there?"

Uhura gave him a withering look not unlike Spock's, as if daring him to say anything. "I'm fine, Captain," she said.

"You bet she is," Scotty said, turning to stare at Kirk wide-eyed. Silently he mouthed something that appeared to be 'feisty', and Kirk decided to ignore it.

"Spock?" he said softly.

Spock inclined his head and stepped away from McCoy, but Kirk had other ideas. "I'll go first," he said, then, with a self-deprecating smile in a feeble attempt to lighten the mood, "If anything happens, don't let go, okay?"

To his surprise, Spock did not argue for the illogic of his bravado but merely nodded, grabbing onto Dr. McCoy's clothed wrist.

"Ow," McCoy hissed, "Hobgoblin's got a grip like crab claws."

Kirk snorted, then felt warm fingers intertwine with his. He looked over to see Spock's impassive face and smiled, feeling infinitely cheered up.

"Alright, guys, space out, stretch as far as you can."

The crew shuffled their feet and kicked the light torches along, soon the concentrated light broke off into small luminescent orbs, giving the corridor an even more surreal feeling. The line stretched further and further, until Kirk counted twenty steps — about the same distance when the corridor began to impossibly loop.

"Everyone okay?" Kirk raised his voice, turning to see Spock regarding him with an even expression. The sound appeared to be muffled quickly, he could only make out McCoy's voice but it was already thin. "I guess it's a game of Chinese whispers, then," he said.

Spock lifted his eyebrow slightly.

"It's basically passing information from one person to another in a line," Kirk explained. "Anyway, report."

Spock turned and relayed the information, and Kirk heard McCoy mumble something to Sulu, then it was like a stone cast into a lake, the ripple died down. A few seconds later, the mumbled noise began to grow and eventually Spock tipped his head over and said, "All normal, Captain."

"Right," Kirk said. "We move forward, then. Do not break contact, I repeat, under no circumstances are we to break contact."

"Affirmative, Captain," said Spock after relaying the orders.

Kirk led them into the darkness one step at a time, shuffling sideways awkwardly, pausing to kick the torches further. As long as the light dispelled some of the shadows, he felt relatively at ease, the feeling of safety solidified by Spock's grip and McCoy's distant grumble. Then, out of nowhere, Kirk caught a flash of something in the corner of his eye.

"Wait," Kirk said urgently, "I see something —"

He stretched out his empty hand and made a grab in the darkness, touching something soft and warm. There was an instantaneous flurry of activity behind him, and Spock said, "Captain, Lieutenant Uhura reports something —someone — is touching her other hand."

Kirk stared incredulously at his First Officer. "That'd be me," he said. "I think. How is — how is this even _possible_?"

Spock turned and relayed the information to McCoy, then waited. After several beats, during which Kirk dared not move a muscle, Spock said, "Lieutenant Uhura is requesting you to cease your ministrations, Captain."

"_What_ ministrations?" Kirk asked indignantly.

"She wishes you to stop scratching her palm, as it were," Spock said calmly, peering over his shoulder.

"Scratch —" Kirk said, then suddenly retracted his hand as if burnt, "I wasn't touching her palm, I thought it was her arm — Spock! It's not me, tell her it's not me!"

Suddenly a wild force jerked Spock towards the side and Kirk nearly slipped, his heart beating against his throat. Somewhere distant (though he knew for a fact that they could not be more than several feet apart) McCoy was shouting, and Spock jerked to the side again, this time pulling Kirk along.

"Spock! What the —"

Suddenly McCoy's head poked out of the shadow and his voice boomed in an instant, "It's got Uhura! We are playing goddamn tug-o-war, Jim!"

"What?" Kirk all but hollered, "No! She'll get hurt!"

"I agree," Spock said hurriedly, "If the force of the unknown assailant is enough to affect the whole group of us, it is likely that Lieutenant Uhura will dislocate her shoulder in the next three point five seconds, or worse."

"God dammit, you don't think I know that? What do you suppose we do, let the ghost hand take her?"

Suddenly something clicked in his mind. _Trust your hand. "_We follow it," Kirk said breathlessly, getting louder by each syllable, "We follow it, go go go go GO!"

Awkwardly they began to run, body turned half sideways, hands gripped tightly in fear and face twisted towards the front. The torches had to be abandoned, leaving them quickly in the darkness. The awkward arrangement of limbs made them bump into each other more often than not, but the darkness seemed to be blinding and suffocating at once — he could not see anything, or hear beyond Spock's controlled breathing. A tidal wave of panic suddenly crashed into Kirk's chest, making him recoil: he was the Captain of the _Enterprise_, he knew how to stare down a horde of Klingons, but the bodiless, shadow of an unknown phenomena made his head spin. How was he supposed to protect his crew from something that is nothing more than a wisp of clouds?

Then, suddenly, just as unannounced as the panic wave that rolled over him, a warm, confident feeling unfolded along his arm and settled in the pit of his stomach, almost replenishing him with strength. Kirk started, then peered ahead — he could not see Spock as much as _feel_ Spock, the alien heat radiating off his backside, the stride just a few paces in front. Instinctively, he tightened his grip on Spock's hand even more, and to his great surprise, felt the gesture returned.

"— ahead," Sulu's voice suddenly cut through the darkness, and Kirk blinked; the shadow was thinning. Their footsteps began to echo and the silence fell away to a flurry of activity, until one by one they fell out of the corridor and into a large, dimly lit underground cavern.

Kirk felt the crew skid towards a stop and a few 'ooofs' as people bumped into each other, then Uhura let out a small surprised yelp. Scotty responded by something incoherent and there was a rustle of clothes, then the sound of something dropping into water.

Kirk's eyes finally adjusted to the light and saw an underground lake in the central of the cavern, lit by the chasm above, and a steep drop into the water, the edge of which Uhura and Scotty were huddled over, panting.

"Holy —"

Chekov finished that exclaim in Russian and Kirk wholeheartedly concurred, barely getting his breath back.

"How is this possible," Sulu panted, "We were barely ten feet under the last time we checked."

"Anybody felt a downward slope when we ran?" Kirk asked, but he was looking at Spock. Among them, a Vulcan's sensitive bearings would be most reliable.

Spock shook his head minutely and gently let go of Kirk's hand. "Lieutenant Uhura," he called, "Were you able to establish visual contact with your assailant?"

"Negative, Commander," Uhura replied. "The moment I came out here he — it — disappeared, I think the rest of the trip was just inertia."

"I see," Spock said, when Kirk did not see at all.

"Give me your hand, Lieutenant," McCoy said softly, and Uhura lifted her arm obediently. Under the swath of light cast through the chasm, a handprint is clearly visible on her wrist, with red and angry claw marks all the way through her palm made evident by her struggle.

"Well shit," Scotty said. "I cannae believe that thing was real."

Uhura's eyebrow disappeared into her hairline in a very Spock way. "You thought I made it up?"

"Well, no," Scotty replied, darting his eye from the lake to her wrist, "But the arm had nothing attached to it, lass. No one told me we were meeting disembodied aliens before I beamed down, or did I miss that part of the prep speech?"

Nobody laughed. Scotty made a grimace at the feeble joke, and they shuffled apart to have a look around the cavern, trying to get better bearings. Spock was just attempting to run a tricorder scan over the rocks when Kirk's sound broke the silence:

"What is it, Sulu?"

Sulu turned; he was standing on an outstretched cliff and looking at the sky through the chasm thoughtfully. "What time is it, Captain?"

Kirk blinked in surprise, then glanced at the chronometer on his wrist. "Six o'clock ship time, why?"

"You beamed down just after lunch," Sulu said. "Which coincided with the planet's sunrise. We took readings before we came — it takes approximately thirty-three hours for the planet to do a full rotation, factoring in the axis tilt, which should leave us twenty hours before nightfall."

"Okay, and?"

Sulu wordlessly moved away from his observation point and a warm, golden hue scattered onto the cold stone floor, its light bouncing off the surface of the lake in reddish glimmers.

A sunset.


	5. Chapter 5

5

"We lost nearly twenty hours?!"

Kirk was dumbfounded; he was certain dawn just broke when they first beamed down on the planet. His portable chronometer had clearly malfunctioned, and he glanced at Spock in an instinctive plea for help.

Spock shook his head, already aware of his unasked question. "I am not aware of any suspicious time lapse. It has been five point six hours since we beamed down and four point two hours since the current landing party assembled."

"Wait, did we lose time, or did we move forward in time?" Scotty asked, "These two things are completely different, ye know — "

"There's no way to know without a reliable reference," Sulu replied, grimacing. "Either way, it is now nearly fifteen hours later than it should be."

"Oh good," McCoy threw his hands up in the air in clear exasperation, "Not only am I a doctor, but apparently now a time traveller, too." He gave Kirk the evil eye, as if it was all his fault.

Kirk deflated. "Bones — "

"It could be worse," McCoy continued, ignoring Kirk's protest, "Next thing you know, we could've aged _fifteen years_."

A collective groan and a chorus of 'Noooooo's. Kirk made an decidedly un-Captain-like gesture and hissed: "Bones! Don't jinx it!"

McCoy gave an elaborate roll of his eyes and tipped his chin towards Spock. "Tell 'em," he said.

Spock made no move but to flick his eyebrow upwards.

"What, you hate me so much that you'll pass up a chance to tell us how _illogical_ we are?" McCoy said, crossing his arms, unimpressed.

"Hatred is an emotion," Spock replied serenely.

Kirk snickered as McCoy looked dangerously on verge of Vulcanicide. "Okay, okay," he said, after reining in the inappropriate glee, "does anyone have any _logical_ theories about how we ended up here?"

Chekov's hand shot into the air.

"Chekov," Kirk said pleasantly, turning. " Do share with the class."

Chekov bounced on his heels, eyes wide, barely able to contain his excitement. "I think we were at warp, sir!"

Kirk blinked. "Warp?"

"Yes!" Chekov nodded, gesturing with his hands wildly, "Ze way we normally enter warp is by creating a a space bubble, letting space trawel while we step out of it — "

"— And instead of a space bubble, we were in a time bubble," Kirk exclaimed, catching on quickly and snapping his fingers, "Which is how we were losing time — that makes sense! Spock! It could also explain why we ended up in that strange corridor, it's basically like dropping out of warp in the wrong place!"

Spock inclined his head. "A sound hypothesis," he said thoughtfully. "Yet we do not know whether dropping out of a time warp prematurely would create an alternate reality, or simply a glimpse into a different point in the same timeline. I am not certain where the corridor we encountered fit in, Captain."

Kirk opened his mouth, then closed it again, frowning slightly. He thought back to the empty corridor, the bloodied hand, and felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine. "We better hope it's an alternate reality," he mumbled, just low enough for Spock to hear.

A brief troubled look passed over Spock's face but he said nothing, only tipping his head in quiet agreement.

"Well, there's no way outta here," McCoy declared, turning a full circle with a whirring tricorder. "We are sixty feet underground, and that chasm isn't reachable even if we stacked a human ladder. That direction," McCoy pointed at the corridor from where they came, "is the only exit and I'm not sure how I feel about that, to be honest."

"Oh I know _exactly_ how I feel about that," Uhura said, rubbing her palm, sounding vaguely annoyed.

"Do we have to go back there?" Sulu asked, frowning, "Who knows what more could be hiding in the shadows?"

"Aye, there are no other way out though, lads," Scotty said.

"Unless," Kirk spoke up slowly, eyeing the water, "Unless..."

McCoy groaned. "Dammit Jim, don't say it."

"... This water looks too fresh to be stationary," Kirk said, ignoring the doctor pointedly. "There must be some sort of way for it to flow around, replenish itself. There could be an exit underneath."

"Or zere could be man eating dragons," Chekov supplied helpfully. Then, at everyone's incredulous stares, he shrugged. "What? It's one of ze most famous Russian myths, you must have heard of it?"

"Well, let's hope it stays a myth," Kirk said. "Spock?"

Spock made a contemplative noise. "I also see a need to explore this underground lake further, but not at the present time."

"Why not?" Kirk scowled, "The longer we stand around, the greater the risks. I'd prefer to get back to the ship asap, if possible."

"That would also be my priority if not for the fact that the sunset has apparently brought out some... foreign creatures in the water," Spock said. "Observe."

They followed the direction of his gaze and saw, almost too quick to catch by the human eye, a fleeting shadow of something spiked jumping across the water and disappearing without even a ripple.

Scotty whistled. "That's sharp."

"And possibly dangerous," Kirk said, though his tone made certain that the possibility is more a fact. "_What is that?_"

As if on cue, three more shadows erupted from the lake surface and skittered towards the land, making the landing party yelp in alarm. Chekov fumbled in the backpack for a spare light stick, and they got a good look at the creature under the pale glow. It was small, fish-like but covered in spikes, which reminded Kirk of puffer fishes on Earth, only it was slimmer, smaller, and decidedly faster.

And apparently, it had wings.

Before he could respond, the creatures zoomed towards him at alarming speed, aimed directly at his eyes. A forceful push got him out of the way barely in time, and Kirk whipped around to see a sharp tear in the sleeve of Spock's shirt, where the creature made a brush with just seconds earlier.

"Holy — "

In a fit of panic, Chekov waved the light stick like a torch and jabbed at the creature, which recoiled momentarily. It buzzed around for a few seconds, bumped against the light stick, then suddenly redoubled its efforts, going straight for Chekov's hair.

"Ack! Get it off me!"

"Don't move!" Kirk aimed his phaser as Sulu, Uhura and Spock did the same, each with a phaser in hand, enclosing Chekov in a protective circle.

"I can't — it wants to get inside my head!" Chekov cried, looking like he wants to pull his hair out but afraid of actually doing it.

"Chekov, drop your hands and _do not move_, that's an order," Kirk enunciated, narrowing his eyes.

In the split second for Chekov to instinctively obey, Kirk seized chance and fired; the phaser caught the top of Chekov's hair and singed several strands. A loud screech, much louder than a creature of this size ought to be able to produce, then it fled from Chekov's head and started to whizz around aimlessly, angry.

"I think — I think it's afraid of fire," Kirk said, taking a deep breath, " — Chekov, you okay? "

"Yes Keptin!" Chekov answered, eyes wide. "I think so, Keptin! It must be afraid of ze heat, zat's why the cold light didn't work!"

Just as he said that, however, two more creatures rose out of the water and began to close in, their spikes raised, ready to strike.

"Oh hell — "

"I dun' know about you but the corridor is looking like a pretty good idea right now!" Scotty exclaimed, ducking just in time and narrowly saving his fingers.

"No!" Sulu blurted, phaser in one hand and sword in another, "With all due respect, sir, I'd much rather face an enemy I can see!"

"Okay guys, stay calm! We can handle this! We just need to start a fire — "

"How?!" Uhura yelled, firing her phasers in rapid succession with no success, "They are too quick for our phasers!"

"There must be something!" Kirk glanced around wildly, desperate, "I dunno — flint stones!"

"Flint stones?!" McCoy roared in disbelief, "_are you a starship captain or not!?_"

Kirk scrunched his face together as he dodged another creature's spiky wings and nearly tumbled when McCoy tossed him something from the medikit.

"What —" He stopped and held up a vial to the dim light, "Medi-grade alcohol — Bones, that's an excellent idea!"

McCoy gave an elaborate groan and muttered something about 'don't know how you keep yourself alive, kid, honestly, _flint stones_' before jumping behind another rock, covering Scotty. Kirk eyed the alcohol: there was only one vial and three of those creatures, so he only had one shot, if he was going to maximise the effect...

He glanced around and caught Spock's eye, who was watching him intently from behind a boulder close by. Upon gaining his attention, Spock looked pointedly at his hand, then at the creatures buzzing ahead, and nodded, once, phaser poised.

A slow, wide grin stretched across Kirk's face: those creatures have nothing on the best Command team in the Alpha Quadrant.

"Alright guys, watch out!" He yelled and grabbed the vial, waiting for the moment when the creatures flight path intersected. "Fire in the hole!"

It didn't matter that Spock may not have understood the reference. Just as Kirk threw the vial, Spock took precise aim and fired; the vial exploded mid-trajectory and an impressive flame flared from its centre. The creatures screeched, piercing, and made a turn towards the lake; within seconds they disappeared and the cavern fell silent again, save for their panting breaths.

Slowly everyone emerged from behind the rocks and boulders, phasers still cautiously clutched in hands, and tentatively checking each other for injuries. Thankfully, aside from Spock's torn sleeve and Chekov's smoky hairstyle, no one was worse for the wear. They watched the lake for a long moment, but the creatures seem to have recognised defeat and called it a day: the water remained eerily calm, not a single disturbance in the darkness.

Eventually the adrenaline metabolised and exhaustion began to settle in the bone. After the fifth fruitless survey around the cavern for an alternative exit, Kirk sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Alright. Looks like we are making camp here."

"A logical course of action," Spock agreed, setting down his tricorder.

"Wait, we are sleeping here?" McCoy turned around incredulously.

"Unless you want to go back to the corridor, or go into the water," Kirk said pointedly, lifting an eyebrow.

"Damn, we are sleeping here." McCoy grumbled, though he too, looked tired enough to just curl up wherever he could. "I knew coming down the planet was a bad idea. I'm a doctor, not a — "

"Lifesaver?" Kirk offered with a lopsided grin, "The alcohol was an excellent idea. That thing would've poked all our eyes out if it weren't for you, Bones."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," McCoy said, jabbing a finger in Kirk's direction, still sounding vaguely annoyed.

"Cheer up Bones," Kirk said, slapping the back of his good friend in an attempt to raise crew morale, "It'd be like the good old days. Remember that one time we went camping back in the Academy?"

"Yeah," McCoy eyed him sarcastically, "You nearly had an anaphylactic shock to a wild berry. _Fun_."

"I do not believe there are wild berries present in this cavern," Spock offered.

Kirk laughed. "Thanks, Spock, I feel much better already." He nudged McCoy. "See, Bones? Spock here is a good friend."

McCoy rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Though I'm not sharing a blanket with you, kid, I've learned from my mistakes." He mouthed something Spock could not interpret in the low light.

"Bones! I'm hurt!" Kirk was laughing again as everyone began to search for their ideal sleeping spots, "I'm an excellent snuggler!"

"Whatever, blanket hogger," McCoy said. "Eat your nutrient bar."

They huddled around behind a strategically placed boulder that provided both excellent vantage point and defence in case of need between the corridor and the lake, and ate a brief dinner comprised of filtered water and Starfleet issued nutrient bars. Scotty reminisced (read: complained to anyone that would listen) about his days on Delta Vega and wondered aloud how Keenser was doing, while Uhura and Sulu idly exchanged knowledge on exotic plants and the linguistic root of their names. McCoy somehow started a drinking game with Chekov sans alcohol, which amused Kirk no end, and he swayed every time he laughed, brushing slightly with Spock, who sat next to him.

Eventually they settled down and laid out the blankets, one for every two. Chekov slipped next to Sulu's without a word, and Scotty patted his with a nod to Uhura, "Ye mind, lass?"

Uhura smiled brightly and they both leaned back onto the rock, seemingly quite content with their half-sitting position.

Meanwhile, the Captain, CMO and First Officer of the Enterprise stared at each other until McCoy caved in, and sighed. "Well, I'll take the first watch, then," he said.

"You sure?" Kirk drew his brows together in concern, "You yawned, like, sixteen times already."

McCoy looked between Kirk and Spock, then shrugged. "I said I'm not sharing a blanket with you, didn't I? And I sure as hell ain't sharing one with the hobgoblin," he said, though the effect was dampened by another yawn. "I got through much worse at the Academy, trust me. I got this."

Kirk glanced at Spock, then shrugged. "He _is_ a medic," he said, then patted the ground next to him. "Come 'ere, Spock," Kirk said, his voice full of pleasant warmth.

Spock complied without a word. He sat down next to the boulder and stared straight ahead, back straight and stiff.

Noticing that McCoy had climbed onto a higher rock to get a better view of the camp, Kirk held open a corner of the blanket and said, soft, "I know Vulcan physiology are more sensitive to low temperatures, so get in here," his voice just the right mix of insistent and gentle.

Spock hesitated for a brief moment, then met Kirk's expectant gaze. Kirk smiled, then whispered conspiratorially, "it's logical."

Spock let out a puff of breath tinted with amusement and acquiesced, settling under the blanket and patiently waited until Kirk found his comfortable position. "Wow," Kirk said, "You are really warm. I'm not sure who would be keeping whose body temperature regulated here, but I'm not complaining."

"Indeed," Spock murmured. Then, "Captain, that is my foot."

"Oh," Kirk said, sheepish, and the cool touch retreated quickly. "Sorry. Hey, good job with the flame thrower just now. Impeccable timing. How did you know that was what I had in mind?"

"If you are referring to the use of alcohol as a flammable detergent, then the conclusion I had drawn was simply logical," Spock replied. "It was a tactic you would likely employ and I calculated the odds of success would be greatly improved if I could assist."

"Yes, well, the odds of success is always better when you are here," said Kirk with a satisfied smile. "A note of commendation for Mr. Spock."

"I'm gratified, though I believe it unnecessary," Spock murmured, dropping his voice low as everyone else began to doze off. "That I would protect my Captain and the crew is a given constant. Perhaps such a formal acknowledgement could instead be used to placate Dr. McCoy?"

"Bones? You think Bones can be bought off with a commendation?" Kirk started laughing quietly and wiped at his eyes. "Oh, Spock."

Spock said nothing, but the subtle shift in his expression told Kirk what he suspected anyway: the Vulcan was trying to make a joke. Kirk grinned wider.

"Thanks, Spock."

Spock inclined his head and did not to ask for further clarification, which Kirk took as a confirmation that the Vulcan understood more about Human expressions of emotion than he let on. A few feet away, Scotty let out a loud snore and shifted, and Kirk was suddenly enveloped by a warm, fuzzy feeling: they were stuck underground in a mysterious cavern, attacked by strange creatures and shadows barely hours before, but he was among _friends_.

Kirk wrapped the blanket closer around his side and turned towards Spock, smiling. "Hey," he began softly, "for the record? I am not a blanket hogger, but hypothetically speaking, _if_ I am, feel free to kick me off this rock and claim your half."

An eyebrow flew into the hairline. "I will not assault you while you sleep, Captain."

Kirk had to bite his tongue to force back a lewd reply and rocked his body slightly in silent laughter. Another eyebrow joined its first. Kirk thought about explaining it then discarded the idea, choosing instead to snuggle further into the crook of his own arm. "Oh Spock." The name slid out like a sigh.

Spock's expression softened by a fraction. "Goodnight, Captain," he murmured, folding his hands into a meditative position.

Kirk lifted an brow and said nothing. A small pause, then in a voice gentler than before,

"Goodnight, Jim."

"Goodnight, Spock," Kirk said, closing his eyes and beaming.


	6. Chapter 6

6

Kirk was dreaming. He was sure he was dreaming, because he was having sex with Spock. The Vulcan's lips were slightly parted, breath coming out in short puffs, cheeks flushed green. His chest was slick with sweat and body tense, every muscle drawn up taut. Spock's pupils were dilated, hair mussed, and his Vulcan heart fluttered against Kirk's fingertips. A gasp, a whisper of Kirk's name, then warm fingers wrapped tight around his wrist, tight enough to hurt but just on this side of _right_. Only... Only Spock must be shielding because Kirk could not feel anything, not the warmth of his mind or the sense of urgency running through his veins, something was lacking... He didn't know what.

Then Kirk looked down and realised it was not sweat that were smeared against Spock's chest. It was _blood_.

Spock was dying, and as Kirk glanced up, horrified, those amber eyes locked onto his for the last time, imploring, then fluttered close.

* * *

"ARRRRRRRRGGGGH —"

Kirk jolted upright at the sound of the terrible scream, panting harshly and looking around in a rush of panic, wild. For a terrifying moment he thought he was the one screaming, then he coughed; a rush of cold air greeted his sleepy limbs as he realised the blanket had been thrown off in a hurry, the other occupant having taken off in alarming speed. There was a huge ruckus going on above, and Spock — Spock —

Spock was swiftly climbing towards the high rock, where McCoy was standing, appearing to be screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Doctor!" Spock ordered sharply, "Calm yourself!"

The whole landing party was awake now; Sulu scrambled up and drew his sword as Chekov moved instinctively into a defensive stance. With a wordless nod, they circled to the back to cover Spock.

"It just never stops!" Scotty exclaimed, wild-eyed. He held out an arm in front of Uhura, who rapidly tied up her hair with one hand, while having her phaser aimed at the scrambling figures with the other. "One minute I was trying to close my eyes for, one bloody minute!"

"Bones!" Kirk shouted, "Spock! What — "

Spock quickly approached McCoy from behind and hovered over the doctor's shoulder, ready to execute the Vulcan nerve pinch. As if on cue, McCoy twisted around and nearly slammed into Spock, whose hand faltered momentarily. Before he could regain balance, however, McCoy launched himself again, and the move was too quick for anyone to intervene.

"GET — OFF — ME — !"

With a great roar, Spock flew down the side of the rock and landed heavily on the edge of the cliff, bouncing twice, before disappearing off the edge.

"_Spock!_"

Kirk sprinted towards the cliff without a second thought. He had never ran so fast in his life: not even when the indigenous species were chasing him on Nibiru.

"Captain!" Uhura cried behind him, and Kirk barely gave a backward glance. "Sulu, get Dr. McCoy down from there, Uhura, Scotty, back up Sulu, Chekov! Watch my back!"

Kirk skidded to a halt next to the cliff and saw, to his great relief, pale fingers that were trying to hang on by the edge. "Spock," he cried, kneeling down to grab the Vulcan's wrist, "I'm going to hoist you up, okay? Stay calm, I'm going to get you out of this, I got you —"

"Captain — Jim, I am unharmed," Spock said, "There is no need for concern —"

"_No need for concern!?_" Kirk all but shrieked (which he would vehemently deny later), "There are _spiky things with wings _nipping at your heels!"

Spock spared a glance down, and widened his eyes. "I retract my previous statement," he said.

Kirk fought the insane urge to laugh as he desperately sought purchase on the ground, something he could lean against. But the stony floor was only littered with pebbles: without purchase, he could easily lose balance and tumble into the lake himself. "If it's any consolation, I won't make any Vulcan diet jokes," he rambled, just to keep himself from freaking out. "I mean, you should see how you — well, the older you — remembered me, the other me, I mean, chubby as _fuck_ as an Admiral, but no, clearly you Vulcans have it easy, because you still look good a hundred years on — or is it two hundred years on? God, I think you guys just stop changing appearances past the age of eighty — "

Suddenly an overwhelming wave of trust and confidence crashed into him from his palm, effectively calming his ramblings. Kirk snapped his mouth shut, and tried to smile in a way that didn't resemble a grimace.

"Jim," Spock said quietly — which was really unfair because how could someone hang off the edge of a cliff and still appear calm and collected? — "It will work."

Kirk couldn't help but breathe a chuckle at that. "Touché, Mr. Spock." He arranged his knees into a sprinter's position and dug his boots into the ground, before tightening his grip. "Can you —"

Spock nodded before he even finished the question.

"Okay, we got this," Kirk breathed, baring his teeth in his effort. "On three. One, two, _three_."

Spock kicked against the cliff wall and swung himself upwards; the full weight of his body falling momentarily on Kirk's arms. Kirk locked onto Spock's hands with all his might and fought against the momentum, baring his teeth with effort. He held on until Spock could use the leverage to hoist himself up, and for the first five seconds, Kirk could do no more than stare at his First Officer, and pant.

"What, how — when has Bones been able to overcome you in combat?" Kirk asked at last, indignant.

Spock closed his eyes in an obvious effort to re-muster his control. "Dr. McCoy did not throw me off the rock," he replied. "Something else did."

Kirk's eyes grew wide. Whipping around, he realised that McCoy did seem to be battling against some unseen enemy: the doctor's legs were twitching in an obvious effort to initiate a kick, and his hands were enclosed against his throat. Circling around him was Sulu, sword in hand and ready to pounce, but there was no opening for him to interject — same with Uhura, Scotty and Chekov, whose phasers waved from one point to another, completely blind.

"I can't see it!" Sulu bellowed. "I don't know what he's fighting against!"

"He's going to choke himself," Uhura declared grimly, steadying her phaser just above McCoy's arm.

Kirk stared. McCoy's hands were tightening against his own throat, but the grip was unusual: it looked more like he was trying to hold off a phantom hand from grabbing his throat, while he clawed at the air in front of him. It was clear that McCoy saw something when no one else could — no matter what direction Kirk moved in, he could find nothing else, only the thin moonlight that illuminated McCoy's face in an eerie shade of pale.

"He's barking mad!" Scotty yelled, gesturing wildly. "There's clearly nothing there!"

Beside him, Spock made a sudden move, but Kirk knew exactly what the Vulcan had in mind: he dashed out a hand and grabbed Spock's arm, aborting the movement. "Don't," Kirk said lowly. "I'd really rather not see you hang off the cliff edge again."

"The statistical probability of a successful nerve pinch, after the last time, is 2.4%," Spock said. "However, I feel compelled to try — "

"No, not before we know what we are dealing with," Kirk said, pursing his lips. Then, in a sharp glance, "Are you sure there was — ?"

"Affirmative," Spock said, narrowing his gaze at, and around, the struggling doctor. Kirk studied his First Officer's face for a few moments and realised that in incidences like these, he trusted Spock's judgement more than his own eyes; no matter how impossible it seemed otherwise.

Turning, Kirk saw McCoy stumble over himself and made a snap decision. "Aim ten centimetres away from his body and set phasers to stun," he ordered.

A stroke of red light went straight through the empty space and ricocheted off the far wall. "No impact," Uhura said, a slight tremor in her voice.

McCoy made a feeble kick with his feet and gagged visibly from above, his face contorted in agony.

"What we do? What we do?" Chekov asked, eyes wide and on the verge of panic.

Kirk narrowed his eyes: McCoy's hands were making a curious, jerky movement, as if he wanted them to curl inwards, exerting pressure only on the windpipe... That made no sense, unless...

McCoy was purposefully avoid pressure on his sinus nodes, the artery.

"Are we just gonna let him drop?!" Scotty exclaimed, darting his eyes between McCoy and Kirk. Above them, Sulu made a swinging gesture with his sword and took a deep breath, readying to jump in at the blind.

Spock cast a quick glance at Kirk and stepped forward. "Lieutenant, do not engage the Doctor," he ordered.

"But — sir, he's going to — "

"It is physically impossible for humans to strangle themselves," Spock said, his tone urgent yet controlled, "Dr. McCoy will pass out, but he will not come to mortal harm. It is best for us to wait rather than engage with a force we do not understand and cannot see. Captain?"

Focusing intently on McCoy, Kirk was vaguely glad that his First Officer once again caught onto his intentions correctly, and gave a curt nod. The Doctor's face was turning an alarming shade of purple already, and his nose flared; it could not be long now. Murmuring softly to himself, Kirk fought the rising panic in his chest:

"Come on Bones... you can't strangle yourself, you even told me so once... come on..."

With a final grunt, McCoy's head drooped to the side and his eyes rolled back, body going limp.

"McCoy down," Sulu said, breathing heavily.

"Wh — what do we do now?" Scotty asked, face scrunched together in concern. "Is he gonna be alright?"

Kirk held up a hand. A watchful beat, then two, and Sulu yelled, "Look!"

Kirk could not believe his eyes: McCoy's knee jerked as he rose once again in an impossible position against gravity, hand still wrapped around his throat, despite the obvious fact that he had already passed out. In a mad rush of adrenaline, Kirk pulled out his own phaser, aimed at McCoy's wrist, and fired.

"Captain!" All of them yelled at once, but Kirk had his eyes fixed on McCoy: the doctor's hand finally fell away, and McCoy collapsed at last onto the rock surface, unmoving.

Nobody spoke for a full three seconds.

"What _the hell_ just happened," Kirk asked finally, breathless.

"Did ye — did ye all see that?" Scotty exclaimed, "That was gravity defying, that was! What's got into him!?"

"Spock," Uhura said, "Why did he attack you?"

"I do not know," Spock said lowly. "Furthermore, I do not believe it was the doctor who attacked me at all."

"Then who?" Sulu asked, incredulous. "There was no one there!"

"Was he possessed?" Scotty asked, scowling furiously, "Even when piss-drunk on Risa III I've never seen him act like this! Never!"

"The force that propelled me off the cliff was strong even by Vulcan standards. It could not have been the doctor's prerogative," Spock said. "I do not believe the human musculature is physically capable of orchestrating such an attack."

Despite himself, Kirk barked out a dry laugh. "If Bones was conscious, he'd give you shit for that," he said, giving Spock a fond pat on the back. "Speaking of, is the doctor okay?" Kirk asked, raising his voice to Sulu.

"I think so," Sulu said, sheathing his retractable sword and venturing close. "His eyes are open, though, it's kinda creepy."

Sulu knelt down next to McCoy and stretched out a hand, trying to take a pulse. Kirk blinked; for a moment the air seemed to glimmer around his wrist, not unlike a hot summer day, and Sulu frowned.

"I think there's something there," Sulu said, making a grab for McCoy's collar.

Kirk snapped up his phaser. "Don't!"

But it was too late; Sulu suddenly rose ten feet into the air, hands around his throat, just the way McCoy's did minutes ago. Without hesitation, Kirk opened fire, but Sulu jerked away; he did an impossible flip flop in the air and hovered, swaying, over the gaping lake.

"Oh my — "

" — Hold on! "

Rapid phaser fire; but something was yanking Sulu's body easily away from the heat. "Captain!" Uhura called, desperate, "It's moving too fast! We could hit Sulu if we keep this up!"

"Cease fire!" Kirk yelled, "Sulu — "

Spock dropped his phaser and raised his voice. "Lieutenant, your sword!"

Sulu struggled violently against the invisible bonds, his body twisting left and right at impossible angles. He made a forceful grab against his shoulder, but it was futile; he arched backwards and cried out in pain, as if something crushed against his spine.

"We have to stun him," Kirk breathed, aiming away from the major organs, "Sulu, we are going to — "

He didn't finish the sentence. Sulu glanced downwards and choked, his eyes uncharacteristically afraid of whatever he was seeing. Kirk followed his gaze and saw the air rippling underneath; he fired.

"What is it, Sulu?" Kirk yelled, "I can't get it — "

The energy beam merely went through the air and hit the water, sending curls of steam up at Sulu's feet. Sulu opened his mouth, but the words were choked at his throat. "Ch- ch-"

Desperate, Kirk raised his phaser again. "Hold still!"

But it was pointless. As if on cue, Sulu jerked once more to the side, his arms suddenly flinging outwards at an awkward angle, like a broken puppet. A split second's pause, and Uhura gasped loudly, then Sulu was swung upside down: his feet hang suspended in the air, while he struggled to send one last look of plea towards his friends.

The air around his ankle glimmered; Kirk's heart went for his throat.

"Sulu!"

"Lieutenant!"

"— _Hikaru_!"

With Chekov's startled cry, Sulu crashed face first into the water and disappeared into the darkness.


	7. Chapter 7

7.

"Everyone on alert!" Kirk barked, "Whatever that thing is, it's still here!"

The remaining crew backed themselves into a circular, defensive formation, McCoy at the centre, phasers drawn and ready. But the air had settled as quickly as it was disturbed: they were once again alone, and blind.

"I think it's gone," Uhura said after a few minutes, tentative.

Almost on cue, Kirk saw a flash of gold out of the corner of his eye, and cursed under his breath.

"Chekov — _come back_!"

But the months spent dashing around Engineering made Chekov impossibly quick, and Kirk's fingers missed the young ensign by millimetres as he made for the cliff. Kirk nearly panicked: it was quiet, too quiet. The lake was gaping open like an abyss, waiting to swallow the intruders whole.

"Chekov! _Stop!_ That's an_ order!_"

Thankfully Scotty was faster; the Chief Engineer took off, pounced with surprising agility and grabbed the ensign from behind, holding him in place.

"It's alright laddie," Scotty soothed over Chekov's string of incoherent Russian, "It's gonna be alright."

"Oh my god," Uhura murmured softly, clasping a hand to her mouth, "he was calling for Chekov's name..."

Kirk's heart wrenched. It had happened too quickly; there was no long drop to Earth this time, not even a buffer period, no way he could've caught up — Sulu was a friend. The gnawing pain in his stomach only worsened from watching Chekov's struggle against Scotty's iron grip.

"Spock, pinch him if you need to," Kirk ordered lowly. Closing his eyes, he murmured, "God, I hope Sulu can swim..."

He darted a look towards the lake, where the water remained still, as if nothing had happened. There was no sign of a struggle, not even bubbles that would indicate a spent breath. An ominous calm.

"I do not think there is need," Spock said. Kirk blinked, then realised the Vulcan was talking about the nerve pinching; he whipped around to see Chekov staring at the lake, no longer trying to make a jump for it, but was instead muttering something under his breath.

Scotty caught his gaze and shook his head minutely, eyes afraid. Kirk knew what he was thinking: trauma and grief could strike a grown man mad, let alone a nineteen year old kid.

"Pavel..." Kirk began, but he had no idea what he could say. Chekov had always looked up to Sulu as a mentor and a best friend; Kirk couldn't even remember the times he had to clear his throat and pretend he didn't hear the shared whisper of a joke between his navigator and helmsman during the dry milk runs. God, it was _Sulu_.

Chekov turned around. His features were even paler than usual, but there was a steely expression on his face and a fierce look in his eye. "_Ne ostavlyaite samuraya,_" he said in a strange tone.

"I'm sorry?" Caught off guard, Kirk worried momentarily for Chekov's sanity, "Say that again?"

Beside him, Uhura gasped. "Yes!" She hissed, quickly stashing the phaser, "That's it!"

"What's — " Kirk frowned furiously, then, in a completely different state of shock, "The writing on the wall? _Seriously_?"

"Don't give up the Samurai," Uhura recited as Chekov stared at them with wide eyes, "Captain — come on, that's got to be what it means!"

Kirk's mouth closed with an audible clack. He had been joking, of course, when he asked everyone to remember their 'haikus', but his mind was now rapidly forming impossible connections between events. First the warning about the shadow, then they were led by Uhura's hand; afterwards McCoy was attacked, ...

"... oh my God, Bones must've fallen asleep," Kirk muttered, running a hand through his hair. A shiver traveled down his spine despite the sweat that he worked up in the frenzy. "And now Sulu's disappeared..."

He trailed his gaze over the large boulder, where McCoy was still lying, unconscious, and the cliff edge, where Sulu stood just hours ago, looking up at the sky.

"Go towards the sun," Kirk breathed. "Oh for..."

He ran towards the cliff and flopped down on his front, hands grabbing at the ledge. Poking his head over the cliff and tipping his chin downwards, Kirk stared at the water underneath: it was not calm like the rest of the lake, but swirling.

A whirlpool.

"How is this even possible?" Kirk muttered to himself, incredulous. The lake was dark, much too dark, and no matter how hard he searched, there was no sign the whirlpool affected the water outside of its immediate radius. He picked up a pebble and skipped it into the water — the stone barely made a ripple before it got sucked into the vortex and disappeared. At the crisp dip of the sound, two of the strange creatures they encountered before fluttered their spiky wings from the far wall; but they did not come close, choosing instead to perch watchfully on a small stalactite.

"Captain?" Spock's voice came from over his shoulder, concerned.

Kirk jumped up and turned towards Chekov. "Is Sulu a good swimmer?" he asked, completely out of the blue.

Chekov seemed taken aback, but nodded firmly. "Yes keptin, he won seweral competitions during shore leave."

"Then we should follow," Kirk said with a terse jerk of his head. "There is a good chance that Sulu got sucked into this whirlpool here, which would lead us out of the cave. Spock?"

Spock knelt down next to him and studied the slow spinning water. "While I do not understand the formation of this vortex, the speed is slow enough and the diameter wide enough for a man to safely pass," he concluded.

"Great," Kirk muttered, sarcastic, "Doesn't feel like a trap at all."

"Captain, we don't even know what we are dealing with yet, and we are already two men down!" Scotty cried. "Ye are not seriously thinking of jumping into that infested water, are ye?!"

"I am," Kirk said firmly. "We are not abandoning Lieutenant Sulu. But," he paused and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "We can't leave Bones like this."

"With all due respect to ze doctor, Keptin, but I'm coming with you," Chekov said, stepping forward.

Kirk glanced at him and simply nodded. "Standby, ensign," he ordered, making a climb onto the rock where McCoy still lied. "Is anyone else trained in advanced first aid?" he asked, crouching down next to his friend.

"Only Lieutenant Sulu," Uhura said, shaking her head.

Kirk stared down at McCoy's face — scowling, even as he was unconscious — and sighed. "I need to revive him."

"If we are to attempt a rescue of Lieutenant Sulu we should not wait too long," Spock said, following in Kirk's wake. "I do not know what mechanism is creating the vortex but the momentum of the water is weakening. I suspect the outlet underneath is closing, and will fully close in approximately twenty two point seven minutes."

"Well, that doesn't leave me with a lot of choice," Kirk said, purposefully avoiding eye contact with Chekov as he rummaged around in McCoy's medical case. "But, as you very well know Mr. Spock, I do not believe in no win scenarios."

Spock's eyebrow shot up. "Indeed?"

"Indeed," Kirk emphasised, surfacing with a hypo and eyeing it in the thin light. "Here's to karma, Bones."

He plunged the hypo into McCoy's neck.

One second, two — Kirk's palm became uncomfortably sweaty, and he absentmindedly wiped them on McCoy's jeans — then, the sound of a huge indrawn breath.

"Bones!" Kirk exclaimed, just as McCoy struggled upright onto his elbows.

" — God dammit — I'm a — _cough, splutter_ — doctor, not a — _cough_ — lab experiment!"

Kirk let out a breath he did not know he was holding. "Doesn't it feel nice when it's done to you, Bones," he said sweetly.

McCoy flipped him the bird as he rolled over and dry heaved into the ground.

"Just like that!" Scotty watched, awed. "I thought he was a goner for good!"

"Sorry — to disappoint," McCoy said when he surfaced, looking pale and shaken, yet grumpy as ever. "I'm not leavin' you — my Andorian Ale, if that's what you — were hoping."

"He's gonna be okay," Kirk said, rolling his eyes.

"Doctor," Spock spoke up, "Can you provide an explanation for your altered state?"

McCoy tentatively pressed a hand to his neck and grimaced. "Ergh. I guess I did fall asleep?" he said, slowly testing the skin for tender areas.

"And are you always in the habit of asphyxiating yourself when you sleep?" Spock said, flicking a skeptical brow.

McCoy visibly bristled. "What? You green — "

"O—_kay,_" Kirk interjected forcefully, "He's glad you are back, Bones, just take my word for it. Spock, lower your eyebrows before it flies off. Bones, that was _not_ just falling sleep and having a nightmare."

"Who said anything about nightmares?" McCoy said, still giving Spock the stink eye, "I gave myself a little something to keep my eyes open, y'know, and the next thing I know, I — "

"What," Kirk said, alarmed.

" — Blacked out," McCoy finished, frowning. "It was like instead of a pick-me-up, I gave myself a strong sedative. Couldn't remember anything after that. And who shot me in the hand!?" he winced as he rotated his wrist, giving his friends a crabby look.

Kirk grimaced as Uhura coughed something suspiciously like 'Captain' into her hand. Luckily, McCoy was over taken by another coughing fit before he could pursue the subject.

"Perhaps you should examine the content of your medical case again," Spock said, when McCoy quietened down. "Is it possible that you accidentally injected yourself with something that could have caused strong hallucinations?"

Kirk made a wild slice-across-the-throat gesture as McCoy rose fully to face Spock, face stormy. "Is it possible that you suddenly want to wear your heart on your sleeves?" he bit out.

Spock's eyes widened imperceptibly. "I do not understand," he said, casting a fleeting glance at Kirk, who was making a wiping 'NO' gesture behind McCoy's back.

McCoy took a menacing step forward. "Now see here, Spock, I might be hacking up a lung, but _somethings_ _do not change_ — "

"Gentlemen!" Kirk said, stretching his arms wide and wrapping his two best friends in a forceful hug from behind, "While I appreciate the friendly — yes, Bones, _friendly_ — reunion, time is of the essence. We _really_ need to go after Sulu."

"Sulu? What's happened to Sulu?" McCoy said, finally noticing that they were one man short. His gaze landed on Chekov, who was still standing on the cliff edge stiffly, staring into the lake. "Oh hell." McCoy sighed and made a gesture, mouthing, '_really?_'

Kirk nodded grimly. "But don't worry, we are going to listen to the haikus on the wall and follow him," he said with false cheer, jumping down from the rock swiftly and lending a hand to McCoy.

"Why am I not surprised," McCoy grumbled.

Kirk wrapped his arms around McCoy and helped him down. "Are you feeling okay?"

"No," McCoy coughed again noisily and gave him a dirty look. "I'm in pain all over. Dammit kid, I'm not twenty five any more."

"Right," Kirk said, curving his lips in a faint smile. "Which is why you are staying here, while Spock, Chekov and I are going after our helmsman."

Uhura exchanged a look with Scotty and said, "Sir."

"Lieutenant," Kirk acknowledged, sobering up. He straightened his back and sharpened his gaze, voice dropping into a level, authoritative tone. "I'm going to need you to take care of our CMO until either we are able to retrieve Lieutenant Sulu or we find a way out. Do not let your guard down — it is very possible that whatever foe we were dealing with, it's still here."

Uhura took over McCoy's elbow and tipped her chin, firmly, once.

"Scotty!" Kirk continued, whirling around, "In case we do not return, you will be Acting Captain and I shall trust your judgement. Once again, if we do not return, focus on fixing the communicators and beam yourselves up the first chance you get. Is that understood?"

"Aye, sir," Scotty replied with a curt nod.

McCoy took a deep breath wetly and grabbed Kirk's arm. "Now look, Jim, I really don't like this — "

"Relax, Bones, I've got Spock with me," Kirk said, patting his friend on the back with forced bravado. "Now give me a few hypos for the road, and we'll be good to go."

McCoy searched his face for a moment, then nodded grimly. But the simple motion of bending down sent him coughing and groaning again, which made Kirk distintly uneasy. "Are you sure you are okay?"

"I'm gonna be no use to anyone any time soon," McCoy groused, rubbing his throat and tossing a few hypos Kirk's way. "To be honest, I'm surprised at the strength of my own hand," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Perhaps I may be of assistance," Spock said, stepping close before Kirk could reply. "I can employ Vulcan mind techniques to block out the pain and enhance muscle function for a temporary period."

"You can do that?" Kirk said, amazed, "Will it hurt?"

"No more than the pain Dr. McCoy is current in, no," Spock replied.

"Good to hear but no — I mean will it hurt _you_," Kirk said, staring at his First Officer pointedly.

Spock lifted a brow. "It will not."

Kirk searched Spock's face for a few seconds and a second brow joined the first: the meaning was clear. _Vulcans do not lie._

Despite himself, Kirk grinned.

"Well?" he patted McCoy on the shoulder, "How 'bout that? A Vulcan mind booster, Bones!"

"Kill me now," McCoy grumbled, but tilted his face willingly forwards nonetheless.

Kirk watched with fascination and something else at the bottom of his stomach he could not quite identify as his CMO and First Officer engaged in a light mind meld. As Spock pressed his finger against McCoy's psi-points, Kirk felt a phantom tingle on his face: memories of warm, wrinkled fingers against his temple suddenly sharpened itself and floated to the forefront of his mind. He wondered briefly how the older Spock was doing and whether they had encountered this planet on their timeline, but Spock had always just given him the fond eyebrow when he tried (not so subtly) to needle for information. The most Kirk was able to get was fleeting images he caught during the meld on Delta Vega, along with a torrent of feelings as a result of the emotional transference...

They separated, and McCoy gave Spock a strange look.

"What is it?" Kirk blurted, darting his eyes between them.

McCoy gave him the same strange look and said nothing. Bewildered, Kirk turned to his First Officer, "Spock?"

Spock ignored him. "Are you in a better condition, Doctor?" he asked, clasping his hands behind his back.

"Yes," McCoy mumbled, stretching his arm and legs, "But I have a sneaky feeling I'm gonna pay for this ten times later."

"You will," Spock confirmed matter-of-factly. Kirk grimaced.

"Bedside manners, Spock."

Spock's eyebrow jumped again but he made no further comment as they approached the cliff. Chekov turned towards them: his eyes were clear.

"I hev been studying the wortex, Keptin," he said, waving his PADD. "Ze flow of the vater underneath the surface is steady, and calm. I do not understand why or how, but it is. Ze creatures do not seem to be interested in this area either, so our passage should be safe."

"An unsettling convenience," Spock said lowly.

"Yeah," Kirk breathed, "But I've long since learnt not to look at a gift horse in the mouth. We should probably grab this opportunity before the spiky things decide to make a charge for our eyeballs again."

Spock inclined his head in agreement. Behind him, McCoy sighed heavily.

"Just... be careful," the doctor said, when Kirk turned to face him. He looked worried: the lines and shadows around his eyes becoming more pronounced under the dim light. Uhura and Scotty held up a hand each, their faces similarly troubled by thinly masked concern. Kirk gave them a small smile, and straightened.

"Chekov," He called suddenly, and the young ensign snapped to attention. Once again Kirk's voice dropped to the level, authoritative tone that allowed no argument, and he locked onto Chekov with a steady gaze. "I know you want to help Sulu, we all do, but you must not act before you think, are we clear? If Mr. Spock and I give you a direct order, you must obey, can you do that?"

"I can do zat," Chekov said, nodding firmly, lips pursed into a thin line.

Satisfied, Kirk exchanged a look with Spock, who also nodded solemnly to him in return. He spared a selfish moment to revel in the quiet confidence the Vulcan exerted by his side, and took a deep breath.

"For the Samurai," Kirk said with a lopsided grin, and plunged into the lake.


	8. Chapter 8

8.

He was floating in a bath. There was warmth all around him, and possibly bubbles, he felt weightless and happy. A perfect time to daydream: an image unfolded itself in his mind, something he once saw in the older Spock's memories. It was of older him and older Spock, sharing a meal. He was eating something strangely coloured, orange, like pumpkin soup, only he was making a face; it did not make sense, Kirk loved pumpkin soup.

Then the image shimmered and a subtle change took over Spock's features — he was both more familiar now and stranger, his face less angular, lines less severe. Kirk looked down and saw his soup being replaced by a bowl of salad, and he was clearly making that face again but this time it made sense, he hated salad on principle (a Pavlovian reflex hammered in by Bones's grouching). Spock lifted an eyebrow as if he knew exactly what Kirk was thinking, and Kirk blinked, realisation dawning: it was his Spock.

_His own, older, Spock._

Spock reached out a hand and gently placed them against his cheek. Kirk instinctively tilted his face to allow better access, waiting for the moment that their minds slid together, but it did not come — instead, Spock's fingers tightened around his face and shook, a faint voice calling him from somewhere far —

_Captain — Captain — Jim!_

Kirk snapped his eyes open; he was no longer in the bath, but in a tight tunnel of water. His first instinct was to take a deep breath — regretting it the moment his brain came back online — but somehow the water did not flood his lungs as he expected, in fact, nothing came into his lungs _at all_ —

_Captain, I am suspending your respiratory functions temporarily. Please calm down. I see light about fifteen metres ahead, Ensign Chekov has already swam through and I suggest we follow._

Kirk blinked rapidly and realised that Spock's fingers actually were pressed against his cheek, evidently engaging them in a mind meld.

_How — _

_Something distracted you as soon as you entered the water, _Spock's voice glided over his buzzing mind, _You were unresponsive. I had no choice but to initiate a mind meld, lest you drown. Please do forgive my intrusion — _

_God, you saved my life, don't ever be sorry — _Kirk glanced around, but he could see nothing but the cold, dark body of water and the glimmering light ahead. The only anchor he could find was Spock's presence in his mind, warm and steadily pulsing, as they fought against the current. Kirk idly entertained the thought that _this feels good, you are welcome in my head any time_ then belatedly realised Spock could probably hear everything that crossed his consciousness, and blanked.

_I suggest we concentrate our efforts on getting out of the water first_, Spock replied, slightly bemused.

Kirk did not need telling twice. He latched onto Spock's wrist, kicked and propelled himself upwards towards the shimmering light.

They surfaced a moment later, curiously, to the sound of slow clapping. Kirk grabbed onto the protruding rock surface and climbed onto solid ground, blinking water out of his eyes. Blearily, he saw two figures ahead: one lying down and another kneeling beside him.

"Ensign," Spock said sharply, and Kirk realised the clapping sound was actually Chekov slapping Sulu repeatedly in the face.

"What — Chekov, stop, stop that!" Kirk said, bewildered and mildly indignant, stumbling close. "Why are you — "

Chekov turned sharply and Kirk stopped, taken aback; the young ensign's face was blotchy red, as were his eyes, due to an obvious effort to hold back tears. "He eez unresponsive, Keptin," Chekov said, his accent thickening in the anxious state. "His eyes are open, just like ze doctor's, and he has a pulse, but he eez unresponsive — "

Kirk let out a dubious sigh of relief and rubbed hands over his face. "Yes, well," he said, staring at Sulu's limp form, "He probably isn't going to appreciate you doing that when he wakes up."

"He vill vake up," Chekov said with an almost imperceptible tremor in his voice, halfway between a question and a statement.

"I am able to detect Lieutenant Sulu's surface emotions," Spock declared, lifting a careful hand from Sulu's arm. "His cognitive functions does not appear compromised."

Without further ado, Kirk fished out the hypo McCoy gave him and pressed against Sulu's neck.

A minute, then two. Sulu's pupils contracted wildly, but he remained otherwise immobile.

"Vhy isn't he responding?" Chekov asked, shaking slightly.

"I don't — I don't know," Kirk said, fighting to suppress similar feelings of panic, "Spock?"

Spock hesitated briefly, then knelt down next to Sulu's face. "Should I initiate a mind meld?"

"Can you?" Kirk said haltingly, then clasped a hand on Spock's free arm. _Will it be too taxing? Can you handle it? _

A familiar sense of reassurance flooded him once again, and Kirk realised he had been asking the questions silently, almost as a stream of consciousness.

"Wait, you can — "

"Only in general tones," Spock answered quickly before the question could even form. "Captain, I will initiate the meld with Lieutenant Sulu now."

Kirk let go of his hand, bewildered and amazed at the same time, while Spock arranged his fingers against Sulu's psi-points and closed his eyes.

"I am wery glad Mr. Spock is with us," Chekov said quietly. Then, "I am sorry."

"What for?" Kirk replied absent-mindedly, eyes fixed on Sulu and Spock's face.

"I will make Mr. Spock cake," Chekov continued inconsequentially. "I am grateful."

"... You do that," Kirk said, vaguely amused. Then, as an effort to relieve the palpable tension in the air, "Just forego the vodka this time, 'kay? Alcohol has no effect on Vulcans, anyhow."

Chekov gave him a sideways glance, and became noticeably more relaxed. "It vill be chocolate," he decided, matter-of-factly.

Kirk opened his mouth to say that no, he will not allow a nineteen-year-old ensign to get his Vulcan First Officer drunk, but the fleeting thought was diverted when the expression on Spock's face shifted.

"What is it?" Chekov said, suddenly tense.

Kirk studied Spock's face intently: Spock's expression had morphed from a controlled calmness to a slight frown, then bewilderment, finally alarm — his eyelashes fluttered and his brows pulled together, fingers shaking slightly.

Disturbingly, it appeared to Kirk as if Spock was having a nightmare.

"Should we do something?" Chekov asked, darting his eyes from Kirk to Spock worriedly.

"No," Kirk said, scowling inwardly, "We don't know if interrupting will do more harm than good — blasted Vulcans never tell you how these sort of thing works — " He paused when he realised for a moment there he sounded like Bones. Instead, he leaned closer and whispered,

"Spock. If you can hear me, come back. We need you to come back."

Spock frowned harder; it appeared as if he was concentrating very hard on something. Sulu's breath was coming out in ragged gasps now, eyes staring into the distance, unseeing, and Chekov glanced desperately between them, hands curled into shaking fists on top of his knees.

"Spock? Spock!"

Kirk forwent all caution and grasped Spock's arm tightly, projecting a clear sense of urgency with all his might.

A long, indrawn breath, then the fluttering calmed; Spock opened his eyes.

"Lieutenant Sulu is unharmed," he declared, retracting his hand.

Sulu promptly rolled over and dry heaved into the ground. Chekov was by his side immediately, patting his back awkwardly and running a hand through his hair, muttering something soothing in Russian.

Kirk refocused his gaze on Spock. "Are you okay?"

Spock lowered his eyes. "I am adequate."

"Uh-huh, and Vulcans do not lie." Kirk said, unimpressed. "What just happened? You looked like you were —" he searched for a close description of what he just saw, "— like you were stuck in Sulu's head," he finished, frowning.

Spock stood up and rearranged himself into a parade rest. "Captain — "

"I am not asking as your Captain," Kirk said, stepping close. "I'm asking as your friend."

Spock eyed him with an inscrutable look for a few moments before relaxing his shoulders and dropping his voice low. "It is usually required for a Vulcan to engage in a period of meditation after a mind-meld," he said. "Given the lack of opportunities at the present, it is possible — though not probable — that my telepathic control has been compromised to a certain degree."

"Compromised?" Kirk repeated, alarmed, "How? What — did you see something in Sulu's mind you were not supposed to?"

"I cannot say," Spock replied. "It was... most curious."

"What did you see?" Kirk pressed, "Just — you don't have to tell me if it's something personal, but — "

"You misunderstand me," Spock interrupted, regarding him with a blank look. "Even when the recipient's mind is vulnerable, Vulcans would have control over which areas of mind he or she could access, to minimise accidental exposure to sensitive information." He paused. "Usually, mindscapes of psi-null species such as humans would be uniformly singular, no matter how weakened the subject's psychological state — "

"Spock," Kirk fought the urge to shake the Vulcan's shoulders, "Just get to the point, will you?"

Spock apprehended him with a level gaze and clasped his hands behind his back.

"When I entered Lieutenant Sulu's mind, it appeared that he was conversing with someone."

"Conversing with someone?" Kirk repeated, astonished, "Like, he was dreaming?"

"I am not familiar with the process in which humans dream," Spock said, shaking his head minutely. "Due to superior mind control, Vulcans do not rely on dreams as a way to systematise information. Even so, I do not believe what Lieutenant Sulu was experiencing could be ascribed to dreaming."

"Why?" Kirk said, feeling too creeped out to protest against the convolution.

"Because I could not hear, nor see, the person he was conversing with," Spock said slowly. "Lieutenant Sulu was not aware of my mental presence at the beginning. He was asking questions, then it became apparent he received an answer, after which he began to panic. Before I was able to bring him out of the trance, he was repeatedly asking, '_why can't I remember, I want to remember_'."

Tiny hairs stood on the back of Kirk's neck. Hearing Sulu's question repeated in Spock's monotone only made it worse, and he took an unconscious step closer to his First Officer. "What does he not remember?"

"I do not know," Spock replied. "Despite my efforts, I was not able to redirect his attention away from the conversation he was having."

"Wait, you mean you felt like he was talking to someone, but you couldn't hear the other side of the conversation?"

"Correct," Spock said. "If he had been dreaming, I would have been able to pick up the mental image of the person he was speaking to — "

" — Like watching a movie," Kirk interpreted.

"Essentially, yes," Spock said. "However, the images Lieutenant Sulu was focused on were entirely different ones."

"Like what?" Kirk pressed, "Was it like — something you saw in Bone's head? Or mine?"

Spock's eyebrow flicked. "Neither of those melds were for the purpose of sharing information, but for enhancing cognitive or autonomic function. I did not pry into your mind or the doctor's, Captain."

Kirk waved a hand, exasperated. "You know that's not what I mean," he said. "Wait, so you didn't see anything when you were inside my head?"

For a moment, Spock looked distinctively uneasy. "I should not have," he admitted. "Yet my telepathic control is not at an optimum level. Our minds are remarkably — " he stopped abruptly and inhaled, changing the subject. "I was presented with fleeting images which I did not understand. I had since attributed them to your active imagination — "

"Active — " Kirk frowned, "You saw what I saw, right? Us? Being old together and eating a bowl of salad?"

Spock nodded and lowered his eyes, a brief tinge of green colouring his cheeks. Kirk stared.

"You thought that was my _fantasy?_" He said, letting a huge grin splitting his face beside himself, "_Salad_?"

"I — " Spock opened his mouth, then closed it again, looking vaguely annoyed. "The complexities of human fantasy escape me."

"Trust me, Spock, if it _was_ my fantasy, we would not be eating salad," Kirk said. Spock's eyebrow nearly disappeared into his hairline, and Kirk laughed. "I don't mind the growing old bit, though," he said, giving Spock's shoulder a squeeze. "It's good to know that you and I will stick together, as they say, to the bitter end."

"I am — gratified," Spock said, looking slightly bewildered, but vaguely pleased at the same time. Kirk smiled at him. A surprisingly tender moment passed between them, and their gaze held; Kirk's palm tingled with the phantom warmth that Spock's shoulder carried just seconds before.

"So," Kirk cleared his throat after a few seconds, "I really don't know why I was thinking about salads. Is that what you saw in Sulu's mind? I mean, not salads obviously, but something equally random — "

"Lieutenant Sulu was thinking about starships," Spock interjected, before Kirk could embarrass himself further.

"Starships?" Kirk repeated, baffled, "What, he was thinking of the _Enterprise?_"

"No," Spock said, giving him a '_I would not have considered this an anomaly if it was_' look. "Lieutenant Sulu was fixated on on two very specific starships. Namely, the _USS Reliant,_ and the _USS Excelsior._"

Kirk stared. "There _is _no _USS Excelsior_," he said slowly.

Spock nodded, grim.

"Are you — are you sure?" Kirk asked hesitantly, "I don't think Sulu have ever even seen the _Reliant_ — Isn't it deployed near Regula I for a long term mission or something?"

"Affirmative," Spock confirmed. "However, the image present in Lieutenant Sulu's mind was a clear and detailed one. He was, in fact, the Captain of the starship _Excelsior_."

Kirk opened his mouth, let it hang for a few seconds, then snapped it close. He spared a glance towards Sulu, who was still heaving and shaking slightly, knuckles white against the stone ground. Chekov was mopping his forehead with the hem of his shirt, and Sulu smiled weakly, mouthing something that looked like "Pasha".

Kirk blinked. It made no sense that Chekov addressed Sulu by his first name but not vice versa, unless...

"Spock," Kirk breathed, unable to tear his eyes away from his helmsman and the navigator, "Spock, what if Sulu wasn't calling out Chekov's name before he got dropped into the lake? What if instead of _Ch-_ekov, he's actually going to say, _t_-ime?"

A single eyebrow flew into Spock's hairline. Staring wide-eyed into his First Officer's level gaze, Kirk continued in the same mad line of thought, "What if — there is no _USS Excelsior_... y_et?"_

"A most curious hypothesis," Spock responded, straightening contemplatively. "The anomalies we have encountered _are_ mostly temporal in nature."

"Our entire _reality_ is a temporal anomaly in nature," Kirk mumbled. He ran a hand through his hair, suddenly frustrated. "God, Spock, if you ever go back in time when you are old, promise me you will_ tell me things,_ okay? No matter how fucked up I am in another timeline, just — urgh!" He finished with a frustrated groan.

Somehow Spock's eyebrow arched impossibly higher and Kirk was reminded, clear as the sunrise on Cardassia Prime, how alike the two Spocks really were. He gave an elaborate sigh, and shook his head. "This is useless," he said. "Even if Sulu was having an Oracle moment, we have no way of proving it."

Sulu chose that moment to come around. "Captain," he called weakly, face pale but eyes bright, "What happened?"

Kirk walked over to his side, crouched down, and gave the helmsman a tight smile. "We were hoping you could tell us," he said.

Sulu shook his head. "I remember you knocking Dr. McCoy out cold, but that's about it."

"Nothing afterwards?" Kirk needled, feeling somewhat ridiculous himself, "No... epiphanies? Glimpses into the future? Your destiny to become a starship Captain, perhaps?"

Sulu gave him an odd look. "Sir?"

"Your eyes were open like Bones when we found you," Kirk said. "Did you — were you able to see or hear anything? Anything at all?"

Sulu furrowed his brows together and ran a helpless hand through his hair. "Er, no, sir," he said. "I woke up, and Mr. Spock was staring down at me — " he paused, then realisation dawned on his face. "Wait. I didn't wake up by myself, did I? He had to —" Sulu made a gesture around his temple, " — didn't he?"

Kirk nodded grimly. Sulu stared, then cast a fleeting glance at Spock, who was scanning the area with a tricorder again.

"Is — " Sulu began haltingly, perturbed, "Did he — ?"

Kirk gave a dejected sigh. "It's complicated, but it's nothing to worry about for the moment," he said, adding _I hope_ silently in his head. He patted Sulu on the back, and gave Chekov a steady rub at the shoulder. "Glad you are okay, helmsman."

He stalked back to Spock when Chekov began animatedly describing the events that followed Sulu's black out. "Well, it could've been worse," Kirk said with a faint smile.

Spock lowered his tricorder and regarded him with an inscrutable gaze. "That remains to be seen, Captain," he said omniously.

"What do you mean?" Kirk asked, surprised.

Spock stepped aside and directed Kirk's gaze towards their surroundings. They were once again in a cave: there was a wet patch on the ground from where they surfaced, a cliff edge that extended towards the centre of the lake. Pale, thin light swathed over the the scattering rocks, a chasm above them. The stony ground stretched empty, littered with nothing but pebbles. A few large boulders stood out at the centre, one of them particularly tall, offering a good vantage point to the whole cavern. On top of it, something small gleamed in the light. Kirk took a step forward, squinted, then widened his eyes.

It was a discarded hypo.

Whirling around, Kirk gaped at Spock, too dumbstruck for words.

"It would seem," Spock confirmed slowly, staring past Kirk and into the darkness, "that we had, in fact, never left."


	9. Chapter 9

9.

Kirk held up the hypo to the light: it was the exact same one that he pushed into McCoy's neck not minutes ago. Upon closer inspection, he found more unsettling clues: nutrient bar crumbs mingled with small pebbles on the floor, scrape marks of phaser fire against the rock surface. Shards from the alcohol vial were lodged into a small boulder, next to a small sweet wrapper Scotty was unusually fond of.

Everything was exactly as they had left it, except —

"Where are they?" Kirk asked, backing away from the camp site. "_Where is Bones, Uhura and Scotty?_"

"Oiy oiy oiy," Chekov's eyes widened, after examining the cave for himself. He looked nervous, but considerably less tense now that Sulu was with them again. "Zis is not good, keptin."

Sulu rubbed his shoulders and appeared utterly lost. "I thought you said I was taken away from camp?"

"You were," Kirk said firmly, searching the empty stretch of stone ground frantically. "How could this be possible? We swam through a _tunnel_, _for god's sakes!_"

"The vortex appears to have closed," Spock declared, walking close and snapping his tricorder shut. "It is no longer safe to enter the water."

"I — so we can't go back," Sulu said. "But that means..."

The four of them exchanged a glance, and turned, unanimously, towards the only other exit.

The corridor.

"Oh no," said Sulu, shaking his head in slow disbelief, "This is a bad idea."

"Okay," said Kirk, pursing his lips into a thin line and making a resistive gesture with his hands. "Let's — let's just think for a moment. I mean — if this _is_ the exact place where we left, then where could the rest of the crew have gone? I really don't think they'd just pack and leave, let alone back _that_ way," he jabbed his thumb over his shoulder.

Sulu raised his head and stared at chasm above. "It's still dark out," he said. "What if we had gone by an entire day again, without us knowing?"

Spock bent down and crushed a piece of nutrient bar crumb between his fingers. "The humidity in the cave is approximately 67%," he said, straightening. "If a significant amount of time had indeed lapsed without our knowledge, then the food piece left behind by the crew would have been more saturated. In this case, I do not think that is likely."

"Well, thank god for small comforts," Kirk mumbled. "So if we are back where we started, then they must've really left soon after we jumped into the lake. But why... and how..."

He trailed off, letting his gaze fall over the ground, then narrowed his eyes. At the edge of a particularly lean rock, there was a small patch of empty space among the pebbles, like someone had ran a foot over them. He ventured closer, and saw faint track marks at the foot of the boulder.

"I think they tried to push this," Kirk concluded, amazed. He looked up and saw a slither of the sky, the moon of the planet peeking out behind clouds and casting a sheen of pale into the centre of the dark lake. "Guys — I think they made a climb for it!"

Sulu came up behind him and followed his gaze. "That's way too high for three people," he said, shaking his head.

"No, I think they tried to get a signal," Kirk said, turning to their navigator. "Chekov! If we aligned ourselves with the sky outside, can you modify our communicators and beam a distress signal back to the ship?"

Chekov widened his eyes, then fished around his pockets excitedly. "A magnifying mod! Yes! I can do zat!"

"Good," Kirk said, beaming. He turned to face his Vulcan First Officer. "Spock! Give me a hand?"

Spock came up wordlessly beside him and they settled their bodies against the lean rock. "On three," Kirk counted, grinning rather maniacally at the thought of freedom. "One, two, _three._"

The rock made a loud screeching sound against the pebbled ground, and inched away a little.

"Have I told you how much I appreciate you being on my side before?" Kirk said, straightening barely able to contain the excitement, "Spock, you — "

Spock held up a hand sharply, and Kirk snapped his mouth shut. The Vulcan whipped his head towards the lake, expression guarded, then slowly turned back.

"Captain," Spock said calmly, "I believe we have just woken the water creatures."

Kirk stared. Then he heard it: there was a faint buzzing sound, growing louder and more incessant by the second. He narrowed his eyes, peered across the lake, then widened almost immediately — the far wall appeared to be peeling. A particularly large piece fell forwards, then suddenly hovered just above the lake — a steady stream of spiky creatures began to detach from the rock, rising like smoke into the sky.

"Holy — " Kirk took a slow step backwards, then another, until the wisp of smoke became a thunderous cloud, and began charging their way. Abandoning their rock, Kirk yelled, "Into the corridor! Now now now _now_ _NOW!_"

They took off across the cave in record speed, not even bothering to look back. "Link hands! Do not break contact!" Kirk ordered, wrapping his fingers tightly around Spock's, adrenaline overpowering anything else. "Sulu, behind me and grab Chekov!"

It was like jumping into a dark and insulated room. The buzzing began to fade as soon as they entered the corridor, until all that was left was a muffled, hazy feeling of cutting through empty space. Kirk held on as tight as he could, warm, dry palm in one hand and cold, sweaty one in another, twisting his arm behind his back so that Sulu won't collide with him repeatedly in the frantic scramble. Spock remained a few paces ahead, leading them expertly down the winding passageway, his presence a steady reminder through the familiar trickle of reassurance that seeped through their interlinked fingers.

Gradually their mad race slowed down to a fast jog, then a quickened walk, until Kirk's fatigued mind began to wander in the pitter-patter of their footsteps. He wondered whether Spock was currently able to garner his feelings through their interlaced fingers — he was beginning to feel a little heady from the warmth that pooled in his chest. He thought back to the meld that they shared underwater, the same recognised warmth, gliding smooth over his mind. It was similar yet different to Delta Vega; there was no transferred pain, no subtle pang of nostalgia, only a vague sense of contentment and curiosity...

Kirk was entirely wrapped up in his own head when Spock suddenly stopped, making him crash bodily into the Vulcan's back.

"Ow! What is it?" he asked, fighting an insane urge to rub his nose against Spock's shoulder, because Vulcans have crazy muscle density, and it really hurts.

"Is it a good idea to stop, people?" Sulu's voice called over his shoulder, sounding close and far at the same time. "Captain?"

Spock half-turned, the outlines of his face almost indistinguishable in the darkness. "I believe we are no longer alone," he said.

All three humans fell quiet at once. Blood pounding furiously in his ears, Kirk focused intently over their own laboured breathing, until the muffled, distant scuffle became unmistakable —

Footsteps.

"Something — someone's running away from us," Kirk whispered, hushed.

"I estimate a party of three," Spock said, his voice low.

"What — you think it's them?" Kirk asked, breathless.

"I do not know," Spock replied. "Should we pursue?"

Kirk opened his mouth and was cut off by Chekov's yelp, which sounded oddly disjointed and wavy from behind. "Keptinnn — Somethiinnnng's grabbinnng at me — ee — yyy — back — "

"I guess that's your answer," Kirk said hurriedly, tugging Sulu closer and nudging Spock's shoulder with urgency. "Go go _go_!"

They took off again, Kirk's imagination running wild and sending goosebumps down his spine. The disturbed darkness seemed to hide many impossible secrets: disembodied hands, echoes of footsteps that remained at a constant distance, and the never ending corridor...

Then Kirk saw it. A small halo, shimmering at the centre of his vision, the light at the end of the tunnel. As soon as they took notice, the whole party slowed down, and Kirk felt a tentative tendril of hope — maybe this is it.

"Are we finally going up outside?" Sulu asked behind him, voice strained but clear.

"I — " Kirk began, but immediately trailed off. Something didn't feel right: he still felt like he was being propelled forward, when they couldn't be moving faster than a walk.

Kirk blinked. Despite their deceleration, the light was still widening in their vision, and approaching them at an alarming fast pace.

"Is that — "

To his left, Spock tightened his grip. "It will hit us in approximately four seconds," he said, stepping sharply aside.

"What — " Sulu started.

"BRACE!" Kirk shouted, flattening himself against the wall.

The white light crashed onto their bodies and rolled over them, sending a curious, breathless sensation not dissimilar to being hit with an electromagnetic wave.

"Is everyone okay?" Kirk asked, tearing up uncontrollably and squeezing his eyes shut. He blinked forcefully until his surroundings came blearily into view, the burn on his retina fading slowly among colourful bursts and stars.

"Ow, is just like having one too many vodkas," Chekov said, squinting around. "Keptin, vere are we?"

Kirk slowly released Spock's hand and felt the pull against his finger keenly, one stiff knuckle after another. "Where are we indeed," he muttered, wiping his brow against his sleeve.

"Are these 'Fleet issue light sticks?" Sulu asked, kicking one aside from the floor.

Kirk paused, turned, then stared at the discarded light sticks on the ground. "Oh for —," he exhaled, shaking his head in sheer frustration. "_Please _tell me we are not back where I think we are," he said, darting a desperate look at Spock.

"This place does bear remarkable resemblance to the one we encountered before," Spock confirmed, coming up behind Kirk's shoulder.

"Wait, you mean _this _is the creepy place you guys ended up in last time?" Sulu asked, incredulous. "How do you know?"

Kirk scanned around and promptly located the small piece of paper propped against the wall. "One way to find out," he said.

Bending down, Spock unfolded the piece of paper and examined it. There was a brief, anxious pause, then Spock looked up, the expression on his face inscrutable.

"Well?" Kirk asked, nervous, "What is it?"

Wordlessly Spock handed the paper over, and Kirk unfolded it for himself, swallowing. One part of his mind expected the triangular symbol of the Vulcan Science Academy, another hoped for the Starfleet insignia, yet a small part of him dreaded that it would be neither —

He blinked.

Then blinked again.

The explosive light must have damaged his eyes, because the paper was _shimmering_. The shape drawn on the paper was unmistakably a triangle, but it stretched and shrank as he tried to make sense of it — one second it flattened itself out to become the logo of VSA, and the next curved to be a insignia of Starfleet.

"How — " Kirk began, then shook his head vigorously, trying to shake the blurred shimmer out of his eyes. "Sulu! Chekov! Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

They huddled together, took a good long look, then raised their heads to stare at Kirk at the same time. Neither of them said anything, but the look on their faces told Kirk all he needed to know.

"What. The. Hell." Kirk breathed. "Spock, tell me this isn't just some elaborate hallucination, and we are not actually just inside a torture chamber on some random planet, _please_."

Spock eyed him with a level gaze. "The statistical likelihood of the entire Enterprise crew experiencing a collective bout of hysteria is less than 1.6%," he said.

"One point six," Kirk repeated slowly, peeved. "Why does that sound far more probable than it should?"

"We've beaten vorse odds," said Chekov, shrugging.

Sulu groaned. "It's because we've _had_ cases of mass hysteria before, isn't it," he said, eyeing Spock.

Spock inclined his head. "Previous incidents are, of course, factored into my calculations. However, I do not believe we are currently experiencing — " he stopped abruptly, and raised a sharp look over Kirk's shoulder.

Kirk had seen far too many of those looks on Spock's face to ask questions. Twisting around on pure reflex, Kirk whipped out his phasers, and —

— and stared Uhura's face down the barrel.

"O—kay," Kirk said slowly, not daring to move a single muscle. "In light of recent events, Lieutenant Uhura, please do forgive me for not greeting you with unreserved enthusiasm, simply because you are holding a gun to my face."

"Likewise, Captain," Uhura said sweetly.

"There must be some kind of code we can exchange, you and I," Kirk said, narrowing his eyes vaguely and taking a slow step backward.

"We do," Uhura cocked her head to the side. "How are the farm animals doing, Captain?"

Kirk barked out a laugh and relaxed. "Not just the farm animals, Lieutenant," he said, lowering his phaser, "Never just the farm animals."

Chekov exchanged a bewildered look with Sulu, then yelped in excitement as McCoy and Scotty's face came into view.

"Doctor! Mr. Scott! We vere worried!"

"Sulu! Laddie! Y're okay!" Scotty exclaimed happily, arms wide. "The prodigal samurai returns!"

"Oh, it's you again," McCoy's grunted, coming up to Kirk and rolling his eyes. He kicked aside a light stick and glanced around, scowling furiously. "This the place you and Spock came upon last time? Oh, great. Not even a change of scenery. It's like we are stuck in a goddamn holovid show with nothing but seventeen credits for budget!" he said gruffly, crossing his arms.

"Bones!" Kirk called gleefully, pulling the doctor into a bear hug, "It _is_ you!"

"Yeah, and here's my haiku of the day — I'm too old for this shit. _Jim_. Let go. Don't get your snot on my clothes, I mean it. God dammit, Jim, let me go before Spock pinches me."

Spock pointedly clasped his hands behind his back raised an eyebrow. Kirk gave McCoy another hearty slap on the back and released him, laughing merrily. "I thought we were being chased by disembodied aliens!"

"So did we," McCoy replied. "I spent the last fifteen minutes running and hacking up my other lung. Did I ever tell you I'm too old for this kinda shit?"

"Once or twice," Kirk said pleasantly, feeling warmed over from head to toe. Even Spock was looking remotely pleased: his shoulder was the most relaxed Kirk had seen in the past hour.

"I need a breather," Scotty declared, flopping on the ground. "I've had enough exercise to last me a whole year! I'm ne'er beaming down without a bottle of scotch again," he said remorsefully, eyeing his water flask.

"So what happened?" Kirk asked, sitting down and arranging himself in a relatively comfortable position against the wall. "We could use a break. Tell me everything."

McCoy made an elaborate 'please' gesture and began to run a quick medical scan over the crew, while Scotty took over the conversation. "Well, after ye guys left, I was starin' at the sky, right? Couldn't get a good look at it, the crack in the ceiling was so thin, right? So I thought, hey, what if we aligned ourselves with that crack, and boosted our signal? There could be a good chance the ship could pick it up, and we could work from there!"

Kirk exchanged a meaningful look with Spock, who had just folded himself down neatly at the opposite, then nodded. "Go on."

Uhura picked up. "We tried to move that boulder, and it did — just barely. Then — "

"Then all hell broke loose," McCoy stalked back, evidently satisfied with the scans. "Those spiky things? Scary when they are alone, down right _terrifying_ when they form an army."

"We were driven back in here," Uhura continued, shaking her head. "Those _things_ stopped chasing us soon afterwards, but we kept hearing footsteps somewhere close by — so we kept running."

"Oh and I thought I saw something in front of me," Scotty said, flexing his hand. "I made a grab for it. Slipped right through me finger, though, a pity."

"What about you?" Uhura asked, raising her chin inquisitively.

Spock tipped his head sideways. "Our experiences were remarkably similar," he said, and proceeded to explain the events on their end.

When he finished, they were utterly perplexed.

"Wait," Scotty said, "You mean after we left, Sulu somehow miraculously appeared on the ground, then you guys came out o' the water, _right where ye jumped off_, and basically did everythin' we did, until you were also herded into this corridor?" He scanned the group, wide-eyed, then exhaled a humourless chuckle when no one contradicted him. "That's_ bonkers_."

"Except, I think vat you grabbed, Mr. Scott, was my shirt," Chekov said, stretching the hem of his uniform and making a face. "I think you ripped it."

"Better the shirt than ye arm, laddie," said Scotty sagely. "Does anyone else feel cold in 'ere?"

"So we were basically chasing each other's tail all this time?" Sulu asked, frowning, "That's crazy."

"Great, so we are back at square one," McCoy concluded, just as Scotty let out a loud sneeze.

"Sorry," Scotty said, rubbing his nose and shaking his head. "Must be all that sweat coolin' down. Brrr. Hoo! Yeah, this is _creepy._"

"I think I've filled my creep quota for the year," Kirk said, running a weary hand down his face. "Nothing can shock me anymore. I can't wait to file the report for this one — just thinking about the stardates alone is giving me a headache..."

He trailed off when he realised everyone was suddenly staring at him with an odd look. "What, you don't think paperwork is the hardest part of the Captain's job?" Kirk joked, "How about one of you volunteer to help, then?"

No one even cracked a smile. Instead, their gaze shifted slowly upwards, then fixated at a point just above his hair.

Kirk stared back, confused, then groaned.

"Oh my god," He said, unable to believe his luck, "There's something behind me, isn't there."


	10. Chapter 10

10.

"Captain," Spock said slowly, "Please remain still."

Kirk rolled his eyes upwards and tried to get a look at whatever was behind him. "What is it," he asked out of the corner of his mouth.

"A shadow," Spock replied, eyes fixed above his left ear.

"Very helpful, Mr. Spock," Kirk said, sarcastic. "_What kind of a shadow?_"

"It's a face," Uhura supplied, looking thoroughly amazed.

"_What,_" Kirk said, instinctively making a turn.

"NO!" The crew hissed in unison, and Kirk froze. "Okay," he breathed. "Okay. What's it doing?"

"It's shushing us," Chekov said, eyes wide.

"While pushing a dagger-shaped shadow against your neck," Sulu added.

"It's — expanding now," Uhura continued, "Like a cloud..."

Kirk closed his eyes, heaved a long sigh through his nose, then opened them again."I am going to turn around," he said. "Slowly. Okay?"

"Jim, _don't_ do anything stupid," McCoy warned. "Whatever it is, it's not showing up on our tricorder scans."

"Well I'm not just gonna sit here while you guys point phasers at my face!" Kirk hissed, irritated. He inched his shoulder backwards, little by little. "This is me turning, okay? Watch."

"Slow. Slooooooow." McCoy demanded, steadfastly ignoring Kirk's annoyed glare. "Just — hold your breath while you are at it, kay?"

"I got this, Bones, will you just..." With painstaking care, Kirk rotated his upper body, until his eyes became level with the wall.

Nothing.

"Well this better not be a prank," he said, flummoxed. "Where is it?"

"It's — still behind you," Sulu said.

Kirk whipped back round. "What?" He said, feeling dumb for the number of times he had to repeat himself. "It's _following_ me?"

"It's perched behind your shoulder," Scotty said, eyes wide. "It's — ho! No, Captain, don't lead 'em around — "

But it was too late. Kirk already made another instinctive twist, trying to get a glimpse of his back. He heard Scotty yelp, then something — a thousand somethings — fluttered against his neck, coming to life.

"Holy shit! Captain! It's _growing_!_" _Scotty cried, "Oh my god, it's those things again! _Their wings!_"

Out of the corner of his eye, Kirk saw the wisp of a shadow solidifying into one of the spiky creatures that they saw down at the lake. Under the bright light, however, its wings shimmered, soft and willowy, looking nowhere near as frightening as it did before. He stared at one of the creatures straight in the head: it was translucent, wings shaking slightly as if it had just hatched from its egg.

The creature's wings fluttered as it struggled to keep afloat, then faltered, landing on Kirk's lap.

"Captain!" Scotty exclaimed loudly.

A pause.

Kirk could see the exact moment their minds all clicked: Uhura's eyes widened, Chekov made a face, McCoy rolled his eyes with a silent groan, and Sulu made an instinctive grab for his sword. Spock raised a swift hand to silence Scotty, but it was too late: with a faint _zzzzziiiing_, every single one of those creature's wings hardened into razor-sharp edges.

"Oh, I am _sorry_," Scotty breathed, baring his teeth in a grimace, watching helplessly as the creatures made a charge towards Spock's unprotected front.

Kirk made a lightening fast plunge. He knocked over and covered Spock's body with his own, hands over his head, hissing as the skin on the back of his hand split open. Their gaze met briefly — just the fraction of a second — and Spock pulled out his phaser.

"They appear to draw strength from loud noises," Spock declared, narrowing his eye and taking precise aim over Kirk's shoulder.

"You don't say!" McCoy hissed, covering his face with his medi-kit and ducking around awkwardly, "And here we thought we disturbed their nests when we pushed that rock!"

"It's not gonna make any difference!" Sulu yelled, swishing his sword around in a complicated move to create a virtual vacuum around himself, Chekov, and Uhura. "This place is too small! There's no way we can fight them once they're fully formed!"

"Where did 'ell did they come from?!" Scotty yelped, jumping around on one foot. "I thought they couldn't follow us in the dark!"

"They came from the friggin' dark!" McCoy countered, "For all we know, they _are_ the dark!"

Sulu laughed rather manically as he swiped down a row of creatures with one strike. "That's a good one!"

"Oh, I'm glad you are still finding the funny side to this shit storm of RAZORS!" McCoy roared.

"They are the dark," Kirk muttered to himself, staring at Spock unseeingly as the Vulcan blew apart a small horde of creatures just above him. An insane idea formed in his head. "They are the..."

Spock's lips parted slightly as he caught on to Kirk's thought process.

"Captain — " he began, but was cut short, startled, by Kirk's sudden lean towards him.

"The command is yours, Mr. Spock," Kirk said softly, letting his cheeks touch Spock's forehead fleetingly before pushing off.

"Jim — " Spock struggled up right behind him, but Kirk was faster. He grabbed two light sticks off the ground and banged them against the wall, loudly, drawing the creatures' attention.

"Hey! Over here!"

A brief, ominous pause, during which McCoy groaned audibly, then the swarm of dark creatures turned in their frenzied flight paths. The entire corridor shrank into a single point of focus: Kirk.

"Dammit Jim, _no_ — "

Kirk didn't bother to respond. He dropped the light sticks, took one step backwards, then another, until the familiar muffled, hazy feeling of darkness began to envelop around his shoulders.

"Captain!" "Jim!"

The creatures zoomed towards him; their dark wings obscuring the pale, shocked expressions on his crew's face. Kirk smiled.

"Spock, get them out of here."

He turned and sprung into the darkness.

* * *

This time, it felt like wading through water. The darkness was the sea, deep underneath the star's surface, the entire weight of the planet bearing down on him, with no escape.

Kirk stopped running as soon as the buzzing faded, bending down with his hands on his knees, panting. His hands were wet with blood, the pain pulsing steadily with his every breath, but it was nothing compared to the overwhelming pressure of loneliness, crashing down upon him in the dark.

Just as he had expected, the creatures dissipated once they were back inside the shadow, leaving him alone somewhere that was probably outside of conventional time. Kirk groped around until his hands touched the wall, then slumped down against it.

"Hello?" He called, out of sheer perseverance. "Guys?"

No reply.

"Spock? Bones? Scotty! Uhura. Sulu! Chekov." Kirk began to recite the name of his crew, just to drive away the silence and keep himself company. "Oh, Great." He heaved a long sigh and thumped his head against the wall, dejected. "Captain's Log, supplementary. Stardate whatever the fuck it is now. In an attempt to distract killer wings from my crew, I am now suspended in a completely dark corridor, which is in the middle of nowhere and goes absolutely nowhere." He paused, then quietly cursed under his breath. "Worse than fucking solitary confinement."

For a long moment, Kirk stared unseeing into the blank darkness, the only sound being the blood rushing through his ear. His mind started to drift, the faces of his crew flashing across his consciousness. Bones was probably throwing a hissy fit right now, he thought, and Spock...

Curving his lips in a small, sad smile, Kirk allowed himself a moment of weakness, and breathed the Vulcan's name. "Spock."

The air around him fluttered.

Frowning, Kirk moved his head to the side, then felt the flutter again; it was as if a gentle wind rippled through the whole of his body, making hairs stand on their end. He strained his ears, then froze at the sound of faint voices.

_"... to leave these behind is if they were beamed out..."_

_"...of scattering for the torches would indicate..."_

Kirk snapped his head up. He recognised that voice — both voices, actually — and scrambled to his feet, mind racing.

_"... sign of the Vulcan Science Academy..."_

Kirk listened intently, heart thumping painfully against his throat. It felt like a puzzle was assembling itself in his mind — but the implication was so vast that he could not yet grasp it fully. If he remembered correctly, however, they took off soon afterwards —

_"...nor do I deem it safe..."_

Kirk bolted towards the direction of the sound, just as his own tinny voice yelled, _" — RUN!"_

He reached out his injured hand and made a grab blindly, fingers brushing against warm skin. A tingle of familiarity ran through his palm, and Kirk's heart constricted: he realised, among other things, that this could very well be the last time he touched Spock, across an impossible bend in time.

An iron grip suddenly descended on his elbow and Kirk yelped, whirling around. Blinded momentarily by a sharp, bright light and instinctively swiping for his phaser, Kirk struggled against his assailant, until a torrent of feelings rushed up his arm and nearly knocked him backwards —

"— Spock?" Kirk breathed raggedly, feeling like he was about to drown.

The torch waved aside and Spock's face appeared in the pale, unforgiving light. "Jim," he said, tone urgent. "Are you well?"

"I — " Kirk stared, swallowing against the sudden lump in his throat. "Yes," he said finally. His heart seemed to be having trouble finding its rightful spot. "The crew?"

"They are unharmed," Spock said, his voice strangely tight. "Although they are, understandably, displeased with your penchant for self-sacrifice."

Kirk smiled weakly. "Perks of being their favourite Captain, I guess."

"Be that as it may," Spock enunciated, his expression of mild disapproval no more different than the ones he gave when they disagreed on the Bridge, "I do believe the popularity of your Captaincy will be better served if you could consult with your crew before placing yourself in danger."

Kirk lowered his head and smiled to himself. "How did you find me?" he asked.

Something indecipherable flitted across Spock's features, but was soon smoothed back into neutrality. "I followed an intuition," Spock replied.

Kirk's eyebrows rose. "You followed your gut," he repeated, surprised. "What, no careful calculations specific to the third decimal place?" he said, teasing.

Spock regarded him with a level look. "If you must know, the statistical likelihood of my — finding you, was one in three thousand, six hundred and seventy one."

Kirk opened his mouth, dumbfounded, then closed it again. "Wow. Spock — wow." A slow smile stretched across his lips, despite the shock. "Those weren't very good odds."

"We have overcome worse scenarios before," Spock said. "It was not yet a mathematical impossibility."

Kirk beamed at him, feeling warmed from the inside. "Thank you," he said, sincere.

Spock softened his gaze and gave a short, acknowledging nod. Smiling, Kirk searched Spock's face, taking a selfish moment of comfort in the Vulcan's composed features, a familiarity he had very nearly lost. "You know, I think I just made a grab for you," Kirk noted distractedly, almost unable to tear his eyes away.

To his mild surprise, Spock merely nodded again. "I believe you have just completed a predestination curve, Captain."

Kirk blinked, refocused, then the puzzle that had started to piece together slammed to the forefront of his mind, fully formed. "A time loop," he said, turning and staring into the darkness. "Yeah. I thought it might be that."

"It would explain several key anomalies that we have encountered," Spock confirmed.

Kirk nodded, then remembered the spark that danced across his fingertips. "Wait, did you know? I felt something when we touched — did you pick up anything back then?"

"I did," Spock replied, his tone strangely avoidant for a brief second. "However, I did not attribute the anomaly to the possibility of a predestination paradox until recently."

Kirk closed his eyes, mind rapidly going over every mysterious abnormality they had encountered since entering the cave. If they were being dropped in and out of time warp at random points, then it was likely that there were no disembodied aliens after all, only —

"It still doesn't make sense," Kirk said, frowning and making an abortive gesture. "Even if this is just a convoluted time curve, and the verses on the wall were just warnings we would give ourselves — remind me to take points for the obscurity and uselessness of those haikus, by the way — why would that paper shimmer like that back there? Is should either show the logo of the VSA, if we were yet to complete the loop, or the Starfleet insignia, if we went back in time." He stared at his own hands, then up at Spock, surprised. "Unless — "

Spock inclined his head in quiet confirmation. "As I surmised I would be the one to change the symbol, I tested my hypothesis by deliberately choosing inaction," he said.

"The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle," Kirk breathed. "But — even when a choice hasn't been made, when we are given a glimpse into the future, it is always one future or the other, thereby certain by themselves," he said. "I've near seen, or heard the Uncertainty Principle being demonstrated like that before!"

"Theoretically, it should not be demonstrated as such," Spock replied. "That part I am unable to explain. I did, however, complete the loop by adding the VSA symbol onto the paper, shortly after you left."

"Right," Kirk said, concentrating hard. That was probably why he was able to hear his own voice, carried across a time bend — the next chain in the loop was set off when Spock changed the symbol on the paper, allowing his past self to discover it. Yet...

His eyes roamed over Spock's face. Under the harsh lighting, the Vulcan's features looked even paler than usual, his eyes dark, a slight green flush above his cheekbone from the previous exertion. It was mesmerising; yet it reminded him of something nagging at the back of his mind, something he had tried very hard not to think about over the relentless scramble he found himself in.

" — should close every pre-destination loop to rectify the anomalies in linear time flow," Spock said. He paused when it became obvious that Kirk was not listening. "Captain?"

Kirk refocused his attention; the picture was crystal clear now. He knew what he had to do.

"— No," he said, the single word falling like a domino, setting in motion a cascade of decisions. He took a deep breath, and locked onto Spock's inquisitive gaze.

"I think we should break the loop, not complete it."


	11. Chapter 11

11.

Spock's eyebrow shot up. "That would be highly illogical, since it is theoretically impossible to alter an event that has already happened."

"_Theoretically _impossible," Kirk agreed with emphasis. "But I have a sneaky feeling that whatever time loop we are stuck in, it isn't linear. Besides, according to the self-consistency principle, time paradox by itself is impossible, yet here we are."

"A valid statement," Spock conceded gracefully. "Paradoxically, the only consistency in the temporal anomalies we have encountered lies in its inconsistency."

Kirk scratched his chin thoughtfully, frowning. "Y'know, the more I think about this, the more I feel like we are getting played," he said, crossing his arms and glancing skyward. "And you know how much I don't like getting played."

"Indeed," Spock noted with a hint of bemusement. "Nevertheless, the possibility remain that — "

He was cut off when the air around them rippled.

"You felt that too, right?" Kirk said, eyes wide. "Every time there is a temporal disturbance, the air does _that_. I think we are about to — "

A palm suddenly thrusted out of the darkness. It made a tentative grope around them, opened and closed its fists experimentally, then hang limp.

" — see that," Kirk finished, drawing out each word in slow disbelief.

Spock eyed it speculatively. "I believe the hand belongs to Lieutenant Uhura," he observed.

A curious thought crossed Kirk's mind. If he didn't know better, he _would_ have scratched her palm, just because he could. Despite himself, Kirk snorted.

Spock poised an articulate eyebrow. Kirk glanced sideways and grinned: he sensed, without a doubt, that the Vulcan knew exactly what he was thinking.

"So," He declared, peering at the empty palm, "According to the script, this is where I take her hand, then run like my tail is on fire until we hit the lake again." He paused and furrowed his brows. "By which point I could disappear into the thin air, because Uhura never saw me."

"The remaining sequence of events comprising this particular loop is yet unclear," Spock agreed. "However, if we do not complete it, we may very well risk being sent back to that point in time, as we would never have left the corridor."

"We have to try," Kirk said, shaking his head and backing way from Uhura's hand, careful not to make contact. "I'm not just going to follow some grand design, even it is fixed in time." He mulled over the thought in his head, feeling vaguely uneasy. "Besides, I have a feeling I don't want the events to unfold the way it did. Or will. Ergh, I've always hated time paradoxes."

Spock lifted an inquisitive brow. "Have you been given more information on your predestination curve?"

"Yes. No. I don't know." Kirk sighed, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "It's just — I keep seeing this...this image, in my head, ever since we came down here. Only I don't think it's —" He hesitated. "We have to break the loop," he said finally, meeting Spock's eyes, then lowering his gaze by a fraction. "I — I think something will happen to you if we don't."

A brief look of surprise flitted across Spock's face. "Fascinating," he murmured, voice dipping low. "I had been under the impression that I should be vigilant of, and prevent, a similar fate from befalling you."

Kirk dropped his arms. "Wait, me — ?"

Spock bowed his head in confirmation, then looked up with an indecipherable expression. "Although it is impossible to pinpoint the exact event it is referring to," he said quietly, "I have, at least, concluded that there could be no other person who could serve as the point of reference in the warning that I gave myself."

Kirk stared, almost afraid to parse what he was really hearing. Swallowing, he fought against the strange flutter in the pit of his stomach, one that had nothing to do with where he was.

"Spock — " He inhaled, seized by a sudden, irrational feeling of being on the verge of a deep dive. " — Why did you come back for me?"

Spock parted his lips, hesitated, then closed it.

"The same reason you went back for me," he answered finally.

Kirk considered this, then smiled. "Because you are my friend?" he ventured softly, feeling bittersweet in more ways than one.

Spock said nothing. For a moment Kirk remembered the Vulcan's eyes behind the glass: full of anguish and apprehension, torn by helplessness, desperately trying to hold on. He thought he had seen a tear, then, and remembered musing over the myth that Vulcans do not cry, before telling himself that Spock was just as, if not more, human. He remembered his hand, pressed against the cold glass, numb at the fingertips, hoping illogically for a last touch of the warmth...

Kirk blinked. Then blinked again; Spock was slowly tracing two of his fingers over Kirk's own.

"Oh," he breathed. Something was threatening to rip from his chest. "_Oh._"

Spock lowered his eyes, then raised them back up again. "I believe," he said slowly, "I finally understand. — _Ashayam._"

Kirk's breath hitched. The reverence adhered to that single word was palpable, filled with hope and quiet devotion, a gift on its own. There was no ambiguity, no hesitation, no room for doubt; Spock's eyes were impossibly bright. A rare and vulnerable expression stretched open across his normally controlled features, the most beautiful enigma Kirk had ever seen.

It took Kirk a full five seconds to realise that he had yet to give a reply. He opened his mouth — _yes yes god yes _— and said,

"For the record? I'm still not eating salad with you."

A fleeting look of utter bewilderment crossed Spock's face and Kirk laughed, diving forward for a kiss. He brought up Spock's hand to his cheek, fingers still entwined, and Spock ran a light touch over his face; a torrent of emotions ricocheted between their shared skin, stronger and headier than anything Kirk had ever experienced. The back of his hand still stung painfully, and he could taste some of his blood on Spock's lips, but he did not care; his chest was about to explode and it felt like the most incredible thing in the world.

Kirk felt like he was being rocked on his feet, the entire axis of his world tilting and swaying. He was still vaguely marvelling over the power of Vulcan telepathy when his feet made a slip, making him realise belatedly that actually, he _was_ being rocked on his feet.

The ground beneath them shook. An ominous rumble thundered close, somewhere above their heads, propelling a gush of dust over their shoulders. They pulled apart, and stared at each other.

"Fascinating," Spock commented, eyes widening by a fraction, a visible tinge of green in his cheeks.

Kirk let out a small laugh. He was still too engrossed in the high to really care about anything, even the threat of an apparent cave-in. "Typical," he said breathily, "I have one moment of unreserved happiness, and the sky starts to fall in."

"To find causation in these two events is highly illogical," Spock remarked, sounding both wry and privately pleased. Small stones began to drop around them; it appeared the tunnel was beginning to yield under the quaking pressure.

"I think we broke the loop," Kirk said, grasping Spock's hand and squeezing it tightly. The disembodied parts of their past selves were long gone, dissolved into the darkness when they were not paying attention. "Among other things."

"It does appear we have destabilised the entire temporal environment," Spock remarked, standing close to Kirk and narrowing his eyes through the dust.

"You know, this could very well be it," Kirk grinned wildly, a mad rush of endorphin mixed with adrenaline in his system. "You gave up your Captaincy for one kiss. If we are lucky, Lieutenant Riley may sing about us when he's drunk."

"I find that I do not care," Spock replied, foregoing the comment on statistical likelihood of survival versus human illogic. Backing away from the unstable ceiling until they had nowhere to go, he scanned the collapsing tunnel with a contemplative look. "I also believe — "

A loud crack drowned the rest of Spock's sentence. A huge slab of stone fell down and landed just a few metres from their feet, throwing a sharp ray of light into the corridor, and dissipating the darkness. Almost on cue, a burst of lively noise filtered through the falling rubbles, throwing everything into keen relief:

"— Now the bleedin' sky's fallin' down — "

"— Crazy hobgoblin had to run after our crazier Captain — "

"— This thing's falling apart people we need to move — "

"— Look out — "

"— Goddammit when I find Jim I'm going to hypo him to Tuesday — "

"— This way this way this way!"

Five scrambling silhouettes emerged from the dust and skidded to a sharp halt, just after a boulder took down another section of the wall. Dumbstruck, they stared at Kirk and Spock, mouth hanging open.

"_We thought ye 'ere dead!_" Scotty shouted, first to recover. "Ye bastards!"

"You are welcome," Kirk said quickly, hopping just as another piece of rock crashed to his feet. "Listen, we think — "

"Jim!" McCoy lurched forward, medi-kit swinging madly by his side, "We figured it out — "

"Keptin, it's a predestination paradox!" Chekov proclaimed, hands over his head and squinting through the scatter of dust. "Your hand came through — "

"And apparently it was my arm you had a taste for," McCoy said, pointing to his short sleeved uniform. "Like I was gonna allow that to happen — "

"I told 'em if we were gonna have a shot at gettin' outta this, we gotta take matters into our own hands, innit — " Scotty interjected, gesturing wildly and getting pulled aside by Uhura just before a large chunk of the ceiling came down, narrowly missing his toes.

"— so we did nothing, and broke the loop!" Chekov finished, letting out a huge sneeze.

"Good!" Kirk yelled over the crumbling noise, "That's exactly what we did!"

"You too?" McCoy shouted back, "No wonder this place is going to shit!"

"I think that's a good thing!" Kirk replied, agilely skipping over a piece of the wall. "We need to find an exit, now!"

It was as if the time bubble itself was collapsing. As the quake increased in its intensity, he could see the small chamber that they fell into not far away, the writing on the wall peeling off as the entire cave shook. In the opposite direction, the lake sank into the ground, swallowing up the surrounding rocks with a sickening squelching noise. Kirk waved his hand frantically, peering through the storm of dust: there must be a way out here somewhere...

"There!" Sulu shouted, pointing at a bright burst of light coming through in the distance. Just as everyone turned, however, the ground suddenly gave a lurch; the tunnel started to sink, angling impossibly downwards until a stream of small pebbles rolled down the path and disappeared into the hole of light.

Sulu did not miss a beat once he regained his balance. "Looks like we are going down!" he called, bracing himself against another ripple of reverberation.

"Are we crazy!? This thing just turned itself into a bleedin' slide!" Scotty exclaimed, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder. "One boulder comin' down that way, and we turn into one giant black pudding with a side of mushed peas!"

"Peas? Is that a derogatory reference to — "

"I think he's just hungry again — "

"Scotty, I swear to god —"

"WILL YOU ALL GET A FUCKING GRIP!" McCoy bellowed, arms flailing as they staggered on the quaking ground. "I wanna getta hell outta here, YESTERDAY!"

"Let's go let's go let's go!" Kirk called, hopping down the slope and making headway in a outpouring of rubbles.

They skidded down the path, McCoy yelling "I — HATE — THIIIIIS — " on the top of his lungs. Behind them, the tunnel crumpled like a long string of dominoes, spitting broken rocks at their backs. Glancing around wildly to avoid the falling debris, Kirk pulled out his communicator and hit the hailing frequency with all his might, crossing his fingers and sending his prayers to six different deities across three star systems.

"Kirk to Enterprise," he shouted, "Enterprise, come in!"

"Enterprise," the voice of a young ensign crackled through the device. "Captain Kirk! We were — "

"No time for that now!" Kirk barked, heart thumping wildly in his chest and feet dancing a mad zigzag through the wrecked path. "Track my comm and beam us up as soon as we are in the clear!"

A muted flurry of orders being passed down the other end, then, "Your signal is still being obstructed by some unknown material," the ensign replied urgently. "We will beam you up as soon as we are able, but you need to get out in the clear, sir!"

"We will we will we will!" Kirk cried, wanting to taste the freedom so much it almost hurt. "Transporter room standby! Kirk out!"

He snapped his communicator shut just as the ceiling above their heads growled ominously. There was a loud tremble, followed by a sickening crack, then Uhura screamed, jerking back just in time.

Kirk watched, horrified, as a large piece of the ceiling broke off, and rocks from the cave above tumbled in. His stomach gave a panicked lurch: they were still too far away from the exit, and the cascade of the debris was falling too fast, —

"It's going to block it!" Sulu yelled, just as another boulder landed on the side, and began to topple downhill.

"Watch out!" Kirk cried, but a dash of blue was quicker; Spock burst through a torrent of rubble with feline grace and backed the falling rock against what remained of the wall.

"Spock!" Kirk's heart made a flip flop in his chest as he leapt forward blindly, "What are you — this is no time to play the damn hero!"

"Captain, evacuate the crew," Spock said through gritted teeth.

The rock was momentarily halted, but Kirk could see that even with the superior Vulcan strength, it was not going to hold. The window of escape was rapidly diminishing, and he could not waste another second —

"Everyone out! Go!" Kirk shouted, slipping beside his First Officer and shouldering some of the weight, however small his contribution might be. "Beam the hell outta here the moment you go outside, _that's an order!"_

"Captain!" Scotty said, scrambling close and nearly falling over on all fours. "We're not leavin' ye 'ere — "

"That's an _order_, Mr. Scott!" Kirk bellowed. "We can't hold on any longer, just get the _fuck_ out of here — Bones! We will be right behind you, get your ass out of here — NOW!"

The last of his crew had just climbed through the hole when Kirk heard another sickening crack. He looked up, and to his abject horror, saw a volley of stalactites shooting down from the cave above, directly at his head.

In the split second that followed, Kirk's mind had a stretched moment of impossible clarity: he heard his name before it left Spock's lips, felt his body tilt before Spock pushed against him, and knew exactly what was going to happen before it happened.

Time re-tilted itself on its axis, and Kirk stared down at Spock's body, contorted and terrible, a large pool of green blood seeping through his shirt.

It was both better and worse than he had dreamed: Spock's eyes were imploring into him and he could feel the short, wet puffs of air brushing against his cheek, but the slickness on the Vulcan's chest was making it difficult to hold on. He was overcome by an insane urge to laugh and cry at the same time; something red and hot was eating him inside, alive. This was exactly what he had hoped to prevent, yet Spock was, once again, right: the paradox was such that he only completed his predestination loop by trying to break out of it.

"Spock... Come on..."

Warm fingers snapped around his wrist and Kirk gasped; it was nothing like his dreams. The blank canvas that appeared in his dreams was flooded with emotions and intricately weaved thought, too much to take in at once; he thought he would explode from the inside. Somewhere at the back of his mind, however, he knew how this was going to go, and he feared for it — it was too much and too terrible to imagine. But there was no delaying it.

"Spock!"

Spock's eyes locked onto his, and long fingers reached for his temple; Kirk gasped, his eyes stung. Desperately grabbing for Spock's hand, he leaned into the touch, and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Yes, do it, do it, do it!"

A blinding light, then the world went dark.

* * *

_A/N: and the story, too, comes to a full loop ;)_


	12. Chapter 12

12.

"Are you scheming against me?" Kirk asked. "That's the third salad this week! When they said 'love thy neighbour', they really didn't mean you could go and connive with Bones, you know."

"Captain — " Spock began.

"Admiral," Kirk corrected grumpily. "God, I just wanna see the stars again. I swear, Spock, sometimes I think about deliberately fucking up so they'd demote me."

Spock opened his mouth, then closed it again, looking vaguely scandalised. "I am sure the opportunity will present itself even without your active input," he said.

Kirk laughed and stretched, sprawling backwards onto the chair. "Come here."

Spock extended two fingers towards him. Kirk rolled his eyes. "_Come here._"

Spock raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I see what we have come to now," Kirk said in mock affront. "You've had enough of my human whims. The romance is officially dead."

The corner of Spock's lips twitched. "It is most reassuring to see that your penchant for melodrama has not changed with age."

"Now he's calling me old!" Kirk exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

Spock peered at him over the tea mug with a most unimpressed look.

"Y'know, I do feel old sometimes," Kirk hummed, grinning and drumming his fingers on the tabletop. "For example, right now I have a sneaking suspicion that I've forgotten something. But I can't remember what I've forgotten!" he scratched his chin, then glanced at his companion. "Spock! Use that Vulcan brain of yours. What did I forget?"

Spock lifted a brow. "Shall I list them alphabetically, or chronologically?"

"Oh, funny," Kirk jabbed a finger at him, beaming despite himself. "I see I've driven your humanity home."

"Perhaps you have forgotten the fact that I am a Vulcan," Spock said. "Vulcans do not joke."

"Uh huh." Kirk rolled his eyes again. "Come here, pointy."

Spock curved two fingers against Kirk's and leaned close. They kissed, slow and languid, then Kirk gently guided Spock's hand towards his temple.

"I missed you," he murmured against Spock's lips. "Come home?"

A curl of a smile, a whispered endearment, then everything went white.

* * *

"— Whoa," Kirk wheezed, pushing himself against the wall. "What was — Did you — did you see that?"

"Most fascinating," Spock's voice came nearby. "Jim — "

Kirk's eyes widened as his memories smashed back into him. "Spock!" He whirled around and grabbed onto the Vulcan's shoulder, "You're — you're —" He roamed his eyes over Spock's body, "— not hurt?"

Spock straightened. "Affirmative," he said, after a brief, surprised pause. He shifted his gaze over Kirk's shoulder. "I believe another temporal shift has occurred, since our surrounding is once again undamaged."

"Yeah," Kirk breathed, a little dazed and somehow unable to remove his eyes from Spock's uninjured body.

"Your hand appears to have healed," Spock noted, raising an eyebrow.

Kirk blinked. He held up his hand for inspection — the back of his palm is no longer splitting open, not even a scar in its place — then frowned. Searching, his gaze landed on Spock's arm. "So is your sleeve," he pointed out, nonplussed. "It isn't torn anymore."

"A most curious development," Spock remarked thoughtfully. "To have our physical state reset to an earlier point in time, while retaining the linearity of memory, is another paradox which we have not encountered before."

"Does this mean we are still inside the loop?" Kirk asked, glancing around. They appeared to be inside a corridor again, but with a slight difference: a soft, yellow light wrapped around them in a small, confined area, while both ends of the tunnel were submerged in darkness. "Just — where are we?"

"Unclear," Spock said with a light frown. "In addition to our unknown location, I am also unable to discern the source of lighting in this particular context."

"Great," Kirk muttered. "We don't know where we are, and we can't move around without some kind of light."

Frustrated, Kirk waved a hand into the darkness, but was caught off guard when the motion was met with resistance.

"What the — ?"

He pushed against the black space, but it wouldn't budge. The darkness felt gelatinous: it yielded under pressure, but bounced back the moment he ceased applying force.

"Spock, I think we are in a cage," Kirk said, flabbergasted.

Spock spent a few minutes studying the perimeters for himself, then straightened. "Jim," he requested, turning and extending his hand.

Bewildered, Kirk offered his forefingers. "Okay," he said, leaning close, "Not that I don't appreciate this, but we are still a bit far from last kisses, right?"

Spock arched an impossibly high eyebrow and gently unfolded Kirk's fingers, before taking his palm. Ignoring Kirk's perplexed expression, he closed his eyes, and focused visibly inwards.

"I believe we are currently in a shared state of altered consciousness," he announced after a few seconds, opening his eyes.

"A what," Kirk said dumbly, distracted.

"I am unable to perceive your emotions through your skin," Spock explained, flicking the eyebrow in response to Kirk's initial misunderstanding. "Barring a sudden loss of my telepathic abilities, the only logical explanation is that we are already inside a shared consciousness, of an altered state."

"We are still in a meld?" Kirk asked skeptically.

"No," Spock replied, "I believe this is much more advanced than a Vulcan mind meld."

"Okay, well, how do we break out of it?" Kirk asked, feeling around with his hands. The wall felt real enough, together with the raggedness in the rock, but the boundary where it met the blank darkness was shifty, as if it was wrapped in clouds. He threw several experimental punches into the darkness, but yielded nothing.

Heaving a long sigh through his nose, he looked at Spock. "I think we better take down the wall," he said, pressing his lips into a thin grimace. "We can push the phaser heat setting up higher and see — "

He started suddenly when a booming voice rang, seemingly, from the inside of his head.

"Please do not move until the Validation process has been completed," the voice said in a flat tone.

Kirk stared at Spock, eyes wide, then made a wordless gesture with his finger. "You heard that, right?"

"Affirmative," Spock said, visibly steeling himself. "Captain, the level of telepathy required to achieve communication on this level surpasses my race. It could be extremely dangerous —"

"We mean no harm," the voice interjected. "Our mode of communication does not involve telepathy in the same term as yours. Please cease your efforts, Mr. Spock of Vulcan."

Both their eyebrows jumped. Sharing a look, they stood back to back and faced the darkness on either end. "Well, You know who we are," Kirk said. "So who are you?"

"I am the Researcher," the voice said. Then, "I am the Collector." Again, "I am the Validator." Finally, in a slightly louder unison, "We Validate Legends."

"Right," Kirk said, mystified. He darted a fleeting glance at Spock, and received a small shake of the head in return: this was not something that either of them had heard of. "You uh, you do realise you three sound exactly the same?"

A brief pause, then, in a mixed pitch of voice, "We apologise. Is this level of aural differentiation more conducive to your understanding?"

"Yes, thank you," Kirk said, taking a big breath. A thousand questions perched at the forefront of his mind, ready to rush out. "Wh — "

"There is no need to overwhelm yourself," the voice claiming to be the Researcher said. "The Validation process will take some time. We will start from the beginning."

"Wait — " Kirk waved a hand, determined to take the conversation in the lead, "Where is my crew? Are they safe?"

"They are safely abroad the Enterprise, undergoing the same process," the Collector answered. "They are unharmed."

Kirk opened his mouth to ask another question, but was cut off by the Researcher's voice. "You are Legends, Captain Kirk. We do not harm Legends. It is our duty to research, collect, observe and Validate Legends."

Kirk took a step back until he was side by side with Spock, who was still focusing intently on the source of the voice, trying to find a telepathic range. "Did we just get complimented by disembodied aliens?" he asked out of the corner of his mouth.

Without redirecting his attention, Spock replied: "I am not sure that qualifies."

Kirk let out a small, breathy laugh despite himself. "Touché, Mr. Spock."

"Please define 'legends'," Spock asked, in the same tone that he would use when talking to the ship's computer.

"Legends are sentient beings who always find themselves in similar roles across Infinite Diversities," the Researcher replied immediately, seemingly oblivious to their little interlude. "As such, their impact in the universe is multiplied at the Point of Convergence."

They exchanged a look.

"Please elaborate," Spock pressed. "What is the Point of Convergence?"

A pause. Then, "The Point of Convergence is the plane on which we exist. The Infinite Diversities converge at the Point, and we intersect. It is both inside and outside of your universe, beyond which you are unable to understand."

"Try us," Kirk said, voice hardening.

"There is no need for animosity," the Collector said tonelessly. "We are not adversarial to you."

"That's kinda hard to believe when you don't even have the courtesy to show yourselves," Kirk said, arching a sardonic brow.

"We cannot," the Validator said in the same flat tone. "That is, you are not able to perceive us. Our only point of intersection is the Convergence. We have limited understanding of each other, even less so on your end."

"Again with the stupid comment," Kirk muttered.

"Captain," Spock intoned, "I do not believe those beings are situated in the same temporal dimension as we are."

"Yeah, I figured," Kirk breathed. He raised his voice again. "So you are responsible for everything that has happened down here? The temporal shifts, all the anomalies?"

"Yes," the Validator said simply.

"How?" Kirk pressed. "What kind of technology is that?"

The voices didn't answer. Instead, the Researcher asked, "How would you explain your drawing technology to a being living in two dimensional space?"

"Drawing isn't a technology," Kirk said automatically, taken aback.

"Precisely," the Validator said. "We draw time in the same manner that you draw lines."

Kirk shared another look with Spock, who seemed to be similarly engrossed in this information. "And why would you do that?" he asked.

"You are Legends," the Validator replied. "You overcome Infinite Diversities. Your presence in the universe affects the Convergence. We validate Legends."

"Great, even their words go in a circle," Kirk grumbled, rolling his eyes. He crossed his arms and peered skyward. "So how exactly are we legends?"

"You are Captain Kirk," the Researcher said simply. "Mr. Spock of Vulcan is by your side. The Enterprise Crew, by each other's. You are Legends."

Kirk's eyebrows flew up. "You are saying we are like this in every universe?" He inquired, immediately thinking back to the older Spock. If the older Vulcan's quiet satisfaction was anything to go by when he told him about the Five Year Mission, a remarkable similarity did exist between his timeline, and theirs.

"The consistency of your roles surpass Infinite Diversities," the Collector explained. "Which, by nature, implies infinite variations. However, the impact of Legends are always significant enough that it will affect the Convergence."

"I see," Kirk said slowly, trying to wrap his head around the idea that there are more universes where the Enterprise crew have come together than not. "And you validate us, how?"

"You are Validated when you break out of the Destiny Paradox," the Researcher said. "Failing that, you will remain inside the Curve."

Spock's eyebrow arched. "That is illogical," he spoke up, lifting his head. "You are, in fact, suggesting that we can only be allowed to fulfil our destiny, if and when we break out of the predestination loop, are you not?"

"Yes," the Validator said. "We fail to see the illogic in that statement."

"Well, you are basically telling us that in order to fulfil our destiny, we have to defy it," Kirk said, pushing off the wall to join Spock. "Doesn't that just mean it's our destiny to defy it all along?"

"You misunderstand," the Collector answered. "As beings on your dimension often do. The ability to break out of the Destiny Paradox reassures your ability to surpass Infinite Diversities. You are not destined to become Legends. You are Legends."

Kirk squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of his nose, grimacing. "Are you getting this, Spock? Cos I'm going to need to explain this _logically_ afterwards for the report. Are they really saying that this was just a big test to see whether we can take destiny into our own hands, so that we are worthy to become — worthy _of_ — these so called 'legends'?"

Spock raised an eyebrow at him, then shifted his focal point of attention. "If our goal was to break out of our predestinations," he asked calmly, "then where is the point of original entry for the Curve?"

"Yeah," Kirk agreed, waving a hand, "If we broke out of the loop, then how could we have given ourselves those warnings? How did the Curve form in the first place — or have we really been stuck in it for a long time, without realising?" he finished, remembering the mysterious time loss.

"Again, you misunderstand," the Researcher said. "The Time Curve does not occur in a linear fashion. The point of original entry is neither in your timeline, nor significant."

"Great," Kirk said. "It really is like talking to a two dimensional being. I'm kinda starting to think we may be fundamentally incapable of understanding them," he said, glancing at Spock, who appeared to be in deep contemplative thought.

"We are glad you have come to this awareness," the Researcher said without infliction. "We are unable to explain something that has no meaning or analogy on your plane of existence."

"Of course," Kirk said, exhaling through his nose. He exchanged another look with Spock, who nodded slightly this time: the Validators, incomprehensible as they might be, did not appear to harbour malicious intentions at least.

Overwhelmed, they fell silent for a while. Spock stood against the wall and steepled his fingers under his chin, while Kirk paced restlessly in the small lit space, each engrossed in their own thoughts.

"Which other Legends have you Validated?" Spock asked suddenly.

The Validator offered several Vulcan names that Kirk did not recognise, and Spock's eyebrow climbed at each mention. "These are the names of ancient warrior partners before the time of Surak," he explained quietly at Kirk's inquisitive look. "I — Fascinating," he murmured, staring into the darkness with a strange expression.

"Any humans, then?" Kirk asked, retracting his gaze.

"Alexander and Hephaestion," the Researcher recited. "Merlin and Arthur. Sherlock Holmes and John Watson — "

"Wait," Kirk interrupted, "You put _all of them_ in time paradoxes?"

"Negative," the Validator responded flatly. "Each Validation is specific to the Legend set. The Validation requirement for the Enterprise crew is the Destiny Paradox."

"I see," Kirk said, wondering if he actually did.

As if sensing his bewilderment, the Researcher continued: "The key identifier for the Enterprise Legend set, beyond yourself and Mr. Spock, is your collective association. Without such, you will neither be able to break the paradox, nor complete it. The Curve would simply fold into itself, and collapse."

"Okay," Kirk said, scowling, "Not that I don't have confidence in my crew, but seriously?"

"No Legends have ever caused the Curve to collapse," the Researcher said tonelessly, as if it was meant to reassure.

"What would happen should the Time Curve collapse?" Spock asked, straightening up.

A long pause, then, "We can find no suitable analogy that will assist in your understanding." Before Kirk could protest, the Researcher continued: "The Validation process includes a full physical re-calibration upon completion, regardless of success. Therefore, your physical form will not come to any harm."

"In fact, your bodies are being repaired as we speak," the Validator added.

Kirk thought back to the treacherous waters and shook his head. "If this was all about team effort," he began, frowning, "Then why did you specifically attack Bones and Sulu? You don't sound like violent beings — "

"We are not," the Researcher assured.

"— But you hurt my crew," Kirk emphasised. "Why?"

"That is an regrettable side effect we are unable to negate," the Collector said. "During the Validation process, occasionally you will intersect with the Convergence. Usually, it takes the form of a glimpse into your future, immediate or otherwise. When a significant amount of intersection occur, however, it could result in a greater predestination paradox, which we cannot risk. Hence we have to inform you of our intentions, and remove any specificities from your memory."

"Unfortunately, humans can be particularly hostile against foreign presence in their minds," the Validator continued. "For us, that struggle manifests in a physical form. We do apologise."

Another small piece of the puzzle slotted into place in Kirk's head. "So Sulu wasn't asking why he _couldn't_ remember, he was asking why he _was not allowed _to remember," he said, turning to Spock. Then, "What about the creature with spiky wings? Is that a side effect, too?"

"When shaping the Validation process, we simply utilised what resources the planet has available," the Researcher said.

"We scanned the planet before we came down," Kirk said, shaking his head. "Trust me, we'd know if there are spiky things with razor sharp wings that dissolve in the dark."

"Once again you are being confined by your understanding of linear time," the Collector said. "These creatures lived, or will live, on this planet at one point. That is enough."

"No wonder it didn't show up on our tricorders," Kirk muttered. He paced back and forth for a few more moments, then remembered something.

"You said we will not come to harm even if the Time Curve collapsed," Kirk said, "But what about the collapse of that tunnel after we supposedly broke out of the loop?"

"After you broke free of the Paradox, the spacial-temporal reality is restored," the Validator said. "What transpired afterwards is an event of natural progression."

Kirk's stomach gave an unpleasant jerk at the memory of Spock bleeding out on the ground. "That was entirely pointless," he said, trying hard to suppress the bitterness in his voice. "We'd already broken out of the loop, so why not transport us straight back to the ship?"

"Your circumstances were exceptional," the Researcher responded. "You are a Legend pair, within a set. Certain aspects of your intersection transcends our understanding. "

Surprised, Kirk exchanged a glance with Spock. "Really?"

"Yes," the Collector confirmed. "For example, it has come to our attention that a crucial point of your intersection has in fact occurred during the Validation process. That by itself, is a paradox. We have never encountered such a phenomenon before. We had no choice but to let the Validation process run its own course, resting on the guarantee that any physical injury will be recanted at the end of the process."

"Huh," said Kirk, somewhat mollified. He licked his lips, then suddenly smirked at Spock. "I guess we picked a good time to get together."

The tips of Spock's ear turned imperceptibly greener. "Fascinating," he remarked, the corner of his lips lifting by a fraction.

Kirk beamed, feeling inordinately pleased at the idea that they one-upped a powerful, higher-dimensional being over something as... unexpected, as this.

"I feel like we should do a fist bump," he said in a stage whisper.

"I find that unnecessary," Spock replied levelly. "Along with the need for the theatrical lowering of your voice."

Kirk grinned like a maniac when Spock ghosted two fingers over his instead. Their gazes met, and a fleeting worry passed through his mind —

"We will not change any event that has occurred in its own natural volition," the Collector said, before the thought could even take form. "Your intersection will remain unaffected, once the process completes."

"Good," Kirk said, feeling vaguely surprised and pleased. He sent a faintly challenging note through his mind, just for good measure. "No one should mess with legends."

A pause. "We do not understand," the Researcher enquired in a dispassionate tone. "The Validation process is not intended to bring disharmony, rather the opposite."

Kirk rolled his eyes. "I'm sure there's no analogy for a sense of humour up there either."

"You will, however, remove the proportion of our memory that retains information regarding our future," Spock inquired, ignoring Kirk.

"Affirmative," the Validator said. "It is commonplace for you to experience a prolonged intersection with the future, nearing the completion of the Validation process. The specificities of the memory will be removed, though the knowledge that you had the encounter, will not. We have found that a certain amount of residual knowledge aids your cognitive process of the event afterwards."

"It will," Kirk said sincerely. "Especially with the paperwork."

Spock's eyebrow gave a slight spasm. "Please explain how the intended memory extraction will affect us," he said, clasping hands behind his back.

"It will not," the Validator replied simply. "Occasionally it will manifest as a phenomenon Terrans call 'deja-vu'. Beyond which, there is no lasting impact."

"You know, I'm not sure how I should feel about what I've seen," Kirk interjected, turning to Spock and smirking. "On the one hand, we kinda look cute as an old bickering couple — "

"Vulcans do not bicker," Spock countered automatically, lips twitching.

"— On the other hand, _Admiral_," Kirk continued, steadfastly ignoring him. "It's probably a good thing that I'm not going to remember, because I _will_ do something stupid just to get out of that promotion."

"I concur," Spock followed cooly. "Perhaps you will at least remember to refrain from acting on your impulses when the feeling of deja vu strikes."

"Also, salads!" Kirk plunged on with a scandalised expression, paying no heed to the subtle jab. "I thought we agreed that's a deal breaker?"

"I do not think the Validators would ascribe us Legends if our partnership can be broken over something as trivial as a bowl of salad," Spock said, one eyebrow challengingly poised.

"Indeed it cannot," The Researcher said.

Kirk laughed. "I think I'm warming up to these guys," he said.

"It has been a most fascinating experience," Spock agreed.

"Your Validation process is nearly complete," the Collector announced, as if on cue. "Your physical forms have been returned to optimum condition, and you will be transported to your ship momentarily."

"We thank you for your participation," the Researcher added. "It is an honour to Validate such an extraordinary Legend set."

Kirk opened his mouth and thought about a parting quip, but decided against it. He gave a small smile instead.

"We bid you well," he said, as Spock intoned, "Live Long and Prosper."

Closing his eyes, Kirk braced for the distinctive sensation of his atoms being disassembled, but it did not come. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes again and squinted.

"You seem to have a concern which you have not voiced," the Researcher said.

"Oh," Kirk said. He felt a little caught out, but cleared his throat anyway. "It's, uh — it's not important."

"It appears to be a question that both of you share," the Collector informed them.

Kirk glanced at Spock in surprise, who flicked an eyebrow. They stared at each other for several seconds, and Spock subtly averted his gaze.

Kirk blinked, then let out a small, incredulous laugh.

"You are not going to ask," he chimed, amused, "Because it hurts your Vulcan logic, doesn't it?"

Spock made no reply but to give him a vaguely unimpressed look.

"Okay," Kirk said agreeably, "Then I will. Validators!"

"Yes?" They answered in unison.

"Does destiny actually exist?" Kirk asked, feeling valiant.

The voices were silent for a long while.

"Yes, and no," they said at last.

Kirk waited, but no further explanation was forthcoming.

"Yeah, that's — that's not helpful," Kirk said, more amused than disappointed.

"Fascinating," Spock commented, "As I find the answer logical in its illogic."

"A suitable analogy," the Researcher said.

Slowly, Kirk felt the presence in his mind start to withdraw. He mulled over the picture of their older selves in his mind, then turned to Spock, who was watching him with a privately pleased expression.

"Y'know, you do look good when you are old," Kirk prodded gently, playful.

Spock raised an eyebrow.

"And this is the part where you compliment me in return," Kirk added helpfully.

Spock inclined his head. "I find it reassuring that you will continue to demonstrate many of your defining qualities in the future."

"Hmm," Kirk pondered, narrowing his eyes, "I'm going to ignore the subtle insult there and take what I can get, cos I'm awesome like that."

Spock's eyes gleamed. He stepped closer to Kirk, just as their surroundings began to fade. "The prospects of our future are not displeasing to me," he added, soft.

"A double negative," Kirk said, turing around and stretching a slow grin. "Now that's _real_ subtle."

They stood side by side, hands lightly brushing, as a swathe of white light washed over their bodies. Kirk felt a vague, comfortable haze starting to enwrap him, then suddenly remembered something.

"Hey, Validators!"

The air around him rippled.

"The glimpses we've seen — does that mean our future is already certain? That we'll get there, no matter what?"

A familiar sense of warmth began to buzz around his fingers, just as the Validators' voice rang in his head, one last time.

"Nothing is certain, Captain Kirk," the impassive voices said, already echoing far and small.

"But you are Legends. You do not require certainty. You make your own."

**THE END**

* * *

_A/N: _

_I bet you all thought I was just using a hyperbole when I said, "this is a story of the Enterprise Crew being legendary", huh? ;)_

_SO THIS IS THE BIG REVEAL! Please do excuse my liberal abuse of Quantum Physics - though I had expert help, I assure you, who made it as scientific as possible before saying 'just do whatever you want, man, it's Star Trek' (!) So if you have any burning questions that needs answered, do ask away in the comments - I shall do my best._

_I hope it has lived up to your expectations - it's been a wild ride! Many thanks to everyone who's commented while it was in progress, your support meant a lot. Esp. lots of huggles to mightymads who helped with the language tidbits and gave me a recipe for Vodka cake, which will make an appearance in the EPILOGUE -_

_Yes there will be an epilogue (where much deserved celebration, fluff, crack and sexytimes ensue), and depending on how people like it, I might make this into a SERIES because I love mission fics, and I love established relationship fics, but I love them more in their combination :3 So do let me know if you'd like to see this timeline continue!_

_Many thanks to everyone who's stuck with the story and hope you've all enjoyed it! See you in the epilogue :)_


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